Hours before the Subway Jalapeno 250 is scheduled to begin, the NASCAR Nationwide Series have assembled the starting field for Friday night’s event at Daytona International Speedway.

With rain beginning to fall with two cars left to qualify, NASCAR decided to wait out the rain to resume the session. With a wait of about two hours, the final two drivers got their chance to earn a spot in the field and wrap up Friday's qualifying run.

The defending Nationwide Series champion Clint Bowyer posted the fastest time during the qualifying session. Only taking part in the opening practice session and earning the fifth fastest time seemed to be enough to set the No. 29 Chevrolet up correctly. With a lap of 49.81 seconds and a top speed of 180.701 miles per hour, Bowyer earned his first pole of the year in six starts.

Infesting the top-10 of both of the Nationwide Series’ practice sessions, David Ragan jolted himself into the second place starting position. Ragan earned his second consecutive starting position on the outside of the front row by orbiting Daytona in 49.96 seconds with a peak speed of 180.701 miles per hour.

Coming off of a fifth place finish in last week’s event at New Hampshire, Kevin Harvick placed his No. 33 Chevrolet in the third spot with a fast lap of 50.07 seconds and a top speed of 179.752 miles per hour. Located in the fifth spot in the owner’s points, Harvick is hoping to inch closer to the top with a solid finish at Daytona.

Chasing down Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards in the point standings, Brad Keselowski has earned a top-3 finish in the past five events. Aiming to keep his summer streak alive, the driver of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet put his car in the fourth starting spot by turning a lap of 50.13 seconds at a pinnacle velocity of 179.544 miles per hour. With 243 points separating him from the points leader, the most popular driver of 2008 certainly has his hands full if he intends on grabbing his spot at the top.

David Gilliland surprised many by rounding out the top-5 of Friday’s event. Taking the No. 42 around Daytona in 50.15 seconds with a top speed of 179.454 miles per hour, Gilliland looks to earn a solid finish in his second start of the 2009 Nationwide Series season.

Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kerry Earnhardt, Michael Annett and Morgan Shepherd rounded out the top-10.

In his first Nationwide race of the season, Kasey Kahne put the No. 10 Braun Racing McCafe Toyota in the 15th spot.

Points leader, Busch will begin the race in the 19th position.

Mike Wallace suffered from an engine failure in qualifying, and failed to make the race.

Stay tuned to HardcoreRaceFans.com for the latest Nationwide Series updates from Daytona International Speedway.

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