CONCORD, N.C. — Denny Hamlin came to Charlotte Motor Speedway Friday as one of NASCAR's hottest drivers and guaranteed the first pit stall for the All-Star race.

Then a blown engine and a band of showers changed the dynamics for the non-points event that pays $1 million to the winner.

A few hours after a cloud of smoke trailed Hamlin's car early in practice, the unique three-lap qualifying format with a mandatory four-tire pit stop was rained out, giving Kurt Busch the pole for Saturday's race simply because he was first in the qualifying draw.

"It feels great. It puts us that much closer to a million dollars," Busch said. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, and my boat put the best lap down today."

Joey Logano will start on the outside of the front row for the four-segment, 100-lap race. Brad Keselowski will start third, followed by Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch and David Reutimann.

Hamlin has won three of the last seven Sprint Cup races and his team finished first in Wednesday's Pit Crew Challenge to earn the choice of pit stalls. He will start 12th but will be required to go to the back of the field when the race starts because he has to change engines.

At least he still gets the coveted first pit box.

"This is probably one of the worst situations you could probably have," Hamlin said. "We didn't get to practice anything. We don't have scuffed tires. A lot of guys will probably race scuffed tires because they're a little bit faster. And we got to start in the back, so it's like a double, triple, quadruple whammy of blowing the motor this early."

The rain hurt other drivers when qualifying was called. Since it features a smaller field, the starting order was based on the qualifying draw and not the points standings.

Instead of starting first, points leader Kevin Harvick will start 13th. He'll have to make up ground before the final segment, a 10-lap shootout.