The Dick Johnson Racing pair jumped to the top of the times on their final runs, De Pasquale the first to clear the field with a 1m13.439s.
But Davison had his measure, the veteran grabbing provisional pole with a 1m13.265s right at the flag.
That means he'll run last in the Top 10 Shootout that will decide the first five rows for today's 250-kilometre race.
Jack Le Brocq made the Shootout for a second consecutive day with the third fastest time in qualifying.
Cam Waters was fourth fastest after not improving on his final run, while Saturday race winner Shane van Gisbergen had to bolt on a new set of rears on his final run to ensure he made it into the single-lap dash.
James Courtney was seventh fastest ahead of Chaz Mostert, while Thomas Randle will make a career-first Top 10 Shootout appearance thanks to the eighth fastest time in qualifying.
Scott Pye and David Reynolds rounded out the best 10 while Broc Feeney and Andre Heimgartner, who made the Shootout yesterday, missed out today with 11th and 12th respectively.
Tim Slade was another Saturday Shootout runner who missed out today, the Blanchard Racing Team driver set to start 14th.
Nick Percat, meanwhile, continued his horror qualifying run, the Walkinshaw Andretti United driver qualifying dead last.
It's the sixth time this season he will start from rear of grid in what has been a tough introduction to the WAU squad.
Townsville 500 qualifying results
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |  Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.2650 | ||
| 2 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.4394 | 0.1744 | 0.1744 |
| 3 | 34 | Jack Le Brocq | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.4831 | 0.2181 | 0.0437 |
| 4 | 6 | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.5161 | 0.2511 | 0.0330 |
| 5 | 97 |  Shane van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.5265 | 0.2615 | 0.0104 |
| 6 | 5 | James Courtney | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.5554 | 0.2904 | 0.0289 |
| 7 | 25 | Chaz Mostert | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.5904 | 0.3254 | 0.0350 |
| 8 | 55 | Thomas Randle | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.5957 | 0.3307 | 0.0053 |
| 9 | 20 | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.6153 | 0.3503 | 0.0196 |
| 10 | 26 | David Reynolds | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.6373 | 0.3723 | 0.0220 |
| 11 | 88 | Broc Feeney | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.6830 | 0.4180 | 0.0457 |
| 12 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.7061 | 0.4411 | 0.0231 |
| 13 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.7076 | 0.4426 | 0.0015 |
| 14 | 3 | Tim Slade | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.7348 | 0.4698 | 0.0272 |
| 15 | 9 | Will Brown | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.7732 | 0.5082 | 0.0384 |
| 16 | 14 | Bryce Fullwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.8013 | 0.5363 | 0.0281 |
| 17 | 56 | Jake Kostecki | Ford Mustang GT | 1'13.8327 | 0.5677 | 0.0314 |
| 18 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.8814 | 0.6164 | 0.0487 |
| 19 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'13.8967 | 0.6317 | 0.0153 |
| 20 | 96 | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.0676 | 0.8026 | 0.1709 |
| 21 | 22 | Chris Pither | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.1239 | 0.8589 | 0.0563 |
| 22 | 10 | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Mustang GT | 1'14.1375 | 0.8725 | 0.0136 |
| 23 | 4 | Jack Smith | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.1454 | 0.8804 | 0.0079 |
| 24 | 31 | James Golding | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.1687 | 0.9037 | 0.0233 |
| 25 | 2 | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore ZB | 1'14.1739 | 0.9089 | 0.0052 |
| View full results | ||||||
