Holden's Jamie Whincup has given himself a huge chance of wrapping up the V8 Supercar championship this weekend by easily outqualifying nearest rival Craig Lowndes for the opening race at Sandown.
Whincup will start from second on the grid for Saturday's 39-lap race.
But Lowndes struggled badly in a wet20-minute qualifying session and will line up 27th on the 28-car grid.
It was the Team Vodafone driver's worst qualifying run since 2004.
Whincup leads teammate Lowndes by 194 points and could wrap up the title if he has a 300 point-plus lead after Sunday's second race, with just the Sydney round next month remaining.
Wet weather specialist Rick Kelly was best in driving rain and poor visibility, clocking a 1min 19.8997sec fastest lap to take pole position - two-tenths of a second clear of Whincup.
More rain is expected for Saturday afternoon's first race.
