Cam Waters will start at the front of the grid for the first race of the inaugural Taupō 400 Supercars showdown.
Waters, who scored pole for the second race of the Melbourne SuperSprint, will share the front row with championship leader Will Brown.
The pair benefitted from being two of the earlier drivers in the Top 10 shootout, which was later marred by torrential rain.
Local hero Matt Payne was one of the unlucky ones who was forced to navigate the soaked track.
Despite finishing fastest in qualifying on Saturday morning, Payne could only manage eight – with conditions spoiling his advantage of being able to go last in the shootout.
"It was a pretty wild qualifying, half-dry and half-wet," said Waters.
"It was full-wet then, and obviously got pretty lucky with it getting wetter throughout the session.
"In saying that, the car was pretty hooked up and felt comfortable straight out the gate. I've had a lot of bad luck this year, so I'll take a bit of good luck then, the team did a great job," Waters said.
"Love being back in New Zealand. We've got an amazing crowd here. The track's pretty cool."
The main race begins at 3pm.
Starting grid:
Cameron Waters
Will Brown
Andre Heimgartner
Tim Slade
Ryan Wood
Cameron Hill
Chaz Mostert
Matt Payne
Anton De Pasquale
Will Davison
