Tim Slade claimed his first V8 Supercars pole position in qualifying for race one of the 2012 season finale on Sydney's Homebush street circuit.
Rain showers in the provisional qualifying session meant a host of big names missed out on the top-10 shootout in the scramble for laptimes when the circuit was at its best.
Champion Jamie Whincup will start only 14th, two places ahead of his Triple 8 Holden teammate Craig Lowndes, while erstwhile title contender Mark Winterbottom is back in 25th for Ford Performance Racing.
Winterbottom's teammate Will Davison grabbed the fastest time in that session, but an error in the pole decider left him only second as Slade secured his first pole in the Rosenberg/Stone Brothers Ford. The rest of the top 10 has a very unfamiliar look. Steven Johnson, Alexandre Premat and Michael Caruso complete the top five.
Shane van Gisbergen qualified eighth for his final race in the series. Van Gisbergen recently shocked the sport by announcing that he was not only leaving Stone Brothers at the end of the season, but walking away from V8s completely.
A loss of oil pressure meant Rick Kelly could not complete a shoot-out lap so he starts 10th.