DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- David Gilliland might have summed up Daytona qualifying best. "Its uncontrolled chaos out there," Gilliland said Friday after landing the pole in a rain-shortened and somewhat hairy session that set the field for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Gillilands top speed during a hectic, cat-and-mouse qualifying session was 199.322 mph, earning him his third Sprint Cup pole and first since landing the top spot for the 2007 Daytona 500. All three of his poles have been at restrictor-plate races, with the first one coming at Talladega in 2006. "Front Row Motorsports, our strong point is definitely speedway racing," said Gilliland, who finished third in the 2011 Daytona 500. "It is something thats circled on our calendar from the start of the year. We put a lot of emphasis on it. The restrictor-plate tracks are good equalizers. David Ragan and I both have good enough cars to win, and that is an exciting feeling. Its something we dont have every week." The top 24 drivers Friday in the first knockout stage were supposed to advance to the next round, but rain prompted NASCAR to cancel the final two sessions. Reed Sorenson qualified second, followed by Landon Cassill, Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson. Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will attempt to become the sixth drive to sweep both annual races at NASCARs most famous track Saturday, was seventh. All the talk during and after was about how the qualifying session shook out. It was the first time NASCARs new qualifying rules were used at Daytona, and it produced some hairy moments as groups of cars slowed to a crawl around the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway. The small packs -- most of them formed by teammates -- were hoping to pull behind bigger groups to produce fast laps. But no one was eager to lead the way. "Its a mess," Earnhardt said. "You have to be in the very back and try to get a big tow. I aint ever seen anything like it. Its the funniest thing Ive ever seen." Risky, too. Several cars turned down pit road to get away from the disorder. But the most common concern was the speed differences, with some packs creeping along while others ran full speed. "It was really wild and it was pretty dangerous," Matt Kenseth said. "Theres car doing 80 and there were cars doing 200 and nobody wanted to go. Everybody wanted to be in the back of the pack and try to catch the front to get a (fast) lap, so it was pretty chaotic." Similar qualifying took place at Talladega in May, when teammates stuck together in hopes of besting the field. But drivers clearly tweaked some things from those sessions. "There was just so much going on out there and its a wonder we havent wadded a bunch of cars up," Brian Vickers said. "A lot of guys running even slower than at Talladega and then some guys even taking chances on blocking the field, which was what really almost caused a few wrecks." Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were among those who did not advance past the first stage. Danica Patrick, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch also did not get to the second knockout round. Joe Nemechek was the only driver who did not qualify for Saturdays 400-mile race. "Its just about being lucky as to who can make it through and who gets the right run," McMurray said. "Its just so crazy that everyone pulls out and doesnt go and then stops. It is what it is. Everyone has the same conditions. It just doesnt feel like racing ... because half the time people are running 40 mph. I dont even really know what to say because its so messed up that I cant explain it." Adidas Falcon Ale . A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. Adidas Deerupt Suomi . Strasburg (1-1) got 14 consecutive outs in one stretch and allowed only three hits, including Marcell Ozunas homer in the seventh. The right-handers lone walk was to the last batter he faced. Washingtons starter Wednesday, Jordan Zimmermann, left after a career-low 1 2-3 innings, leaving the bullpen "taxed," as manager Matt Williams put it. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-ozweego-halvalla.html. Ricciardo made it only halfway around the Jerez track before his RB10 rolled to a stop and began spouting smoke from the back. After team mechanics tended to the car, Ricciardo went back out for a mere two trips around the circuit before calling it quits. Adidas NMD Kengät Ale . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Adidas Eqt Ale . The Thornhill, Ont., native, who is ranked 11th in the world, said hed hoped he would be ready when Canada begins its World Group first-round tie against Japan in Tokyo on Friday.NEWARK, N.J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. It seems almost every time he shoots, the puck ends up in the net. Sharp had his second hat trick in five games and the Chicago Blackhawks avoided a rare second straight loss with a 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. The 32-year-old Sharp has 14 goals and seven assists in his last 13 games. He has 25 goals in 44 games this season, tied for the team lead with Patrick Kane. "I dont know numbers-wise," Sharp said when asked if he has ever had a run like this. "I think Ive felt like this a few times in my career. Its the result of the good players Im out there with making good plays, and all the hard work you put in as an individual. Its a good run for our team, its a good run for me, and hopefully we can keep it going." Sharp helped Chicago build a 4-1 lead, combining with Kane and Marian Hossa to score in a span of 4:04 early in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. When the Devils narrowed the margin to a goal with 6:23 to play, Sharp iced the game, breaking in on Martin Brodeur with 1:28 to play and easily beating the NHLs winningest goaltender for his fourth career hat trick. "Its fun to play against a guy like Marty Brodeur, arguably the best goaltender of all-time," said Sharp, who only had six goals in last years lockout-shortened season that ended with Chicago winning the Stanley Cup. "You see guys like that on the ice, Jaromir Jagr as well, its crazy to line up against those guys." Duncan Keith had three assists and fellow defenceman Brent Seabrook two in the four-goal third period against Brodeur, who faced 24 shots. "They have three lines that can get you and their fourth line doesnt hurt them ever, either," Brodeur said. "We played them well, we were right there, and then they kind of took over. Theyre a good team and they showed it. Thats what good teams do." Marek Zidlicky scored twice and fellow defenceman Andy Greene once for New Jersey, which lost in regulation for only the second time in nine games (5-2-2). Both defeats have come against the Blackhawks, who lost in overtime to the Islanders on Thursday. "We played well for the first 40, then we hit the pause button," Devils forward Ryan Carter said. "Against a team like that, you cannot do that. Theyy can score at any time, and they pretty much did.dddddddddddd" Antti Raanta made 24 saves for Chicago, which is 11-1-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. Kane broke a 1-all tie with a great effort and some luck 90 seconds into the third period. Skating down the right boards after taking a pass from Seabrook, Kane centred a pass toward Brandon Saad in front of the net. The puck deflected off Zidlickys stake and past Brodeur for his 24th goal. Sharp, who opened the scoring, connected 74 seconds later with a great shot from low in the left circle that beat Brodeur over the shoulder. Seabrook set it up with a cross-ice pass from the right point. "He has that eye of the tiger," Raanta said of Sharp. "You can see it in the practice. He is trying to score every chance he has. When you do that in the practice it usually happens when you get the chances in the game." Hossa capped the outburst with a shot from between the circles over Brodeurs shoulder after taking a pass from Jonathan Toews, who also had two assists. That gave Chicago a 4-1 lead, but the Devils didnt quit. Zidlicky made the game close again by scoring twice in a little more than 6 minutes, with the second coming on a power play with just over 6 minutes to play. In their Dec. 23 meeting, the Blackhawks outshot the Devils 37-12 in a 5-2 win. It was a totally different game this time. It was competitive for two periods, and the best players on the ice were Brodeur and Raanta, who both stopped several good chances in close. After a scoreless opening period, Sharp gave the Blackhawks the lead. Toews set it up, taking the puck off Mark Faynes stick and finding Sharp between the circles at 1:34. It came seconds after Brodeur had stopped him in close. New Jersey needed 43 seconds to tie the game. Steve Bernier started a counterattack in the Devils zone with a pass to Stephen Gionta. He carried the puck into the Chicago end and lifted a pass to Greene, who slid the puck between Raantas pads. NOTES: Devils F Mike Sislo made his NHL debut after being called up from Albany (AHL) to replace Mattias Tedenby, who was waived earlier in the day. ... Carter returned to the lineup after missing 14 games with a leg injury. ... Sharp also hit the post in the first period on a power play. ... Devils F Patrik Elias missed the game with general soreness. ' ' '