Long Pond, Pa. ? Bill Elliott was the fastest qualifier for the second week in a row, and tied the record Friday for the most career poles at Pocono Raceway.

On Sunday, in the Pennsylvania 500, Elliott will try to become the first driver to win five times on the mountaintop. Despite that, he hasn’t done well on the track in recent years, last winning in 1989.

Bill Elliott exits his car after winning the pole. Elliott tied a record with his fifth pole at Pocono International Raceway on Friday in Long Pond, Pa.

But his prospects have changed in his second season driving for Ray Evernham after folding his own team.

“This team has done so well this year,” Elliott said. “We’ve just communicated real well. They just keep digging it out.”

The pole was his fourth this year giving Elliott the lead in the Winston Cup series and the 55th overall for the 46-year-old driver. It also was his fifth at Pocono, matching Ken Schrader’s track record.

Elliott’s Dodge sped around the 21*2-mile triangular-shaped track in 52.765 seconds, posting a fast lap of 170.568 mph. That was far short of Tony Stewart’s two-year-old track record of 172.391.

But Elliott was consistently fast, posting the third-quickest speed in practice at 169.393. His first qualifying lap was fast enough to win the pole, but Elliott took another and went even quicker.

“I felt like I didn’t get it done on the first lap,” Elliott said. “All the guys on the team said just go for it, so I was just digging.”

Most drivers, faced with NASCAR’s one-engine rule for each race, are reluctant to try a second fast lap. If an engine must be changed, a driver is forced to go to the rear of the field.

That’s exactly what happened to defending race champion Bobby Labonte, a three-time Pocono winner, who will move from 37th to the rear of the field.

Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup champion, was hoping to convert the pole into his 42nd career victory. He also won the pole for the race last Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, but a mechanical problem left him nine laps down to winner Ward Burton in 17th place.

Second-fastest was Ricky Rudd, who had the best car in June, but developed a tire problem near the end of the Pocono 500. Ultimately, he hit the wall and finished 17th in a race won by teammate Dale Jarrett.

Rudd’s Ford got around in 170.358, but he thought he could have done better.

“That was not the best lap I could have run,” Rudd said. “I got a little greedy over there in the tunnel turn. I drove in too hard and shoved the nose and probably lost some momentum.”

Michael Waltrip overcame a brush with the wall in practice and wound up qualifying third. Driving a Chevrolet missing its number on the right side after a quick repair job, Waltrip went 170.168.

Like Elliott, he was faster on his second lap.

“It just got a little tight when it hit the wall, but they made a few adjustments, and the car ran good,” Waltrip explained. “It handled good, but I just had nothing for those other cats.”

Fourth-fastest at 169.917 was the Dodge of Jeremy Mayfield. Qualifying fifth was John Andretti, whose Dodge got around at 169.782.

Johnny Benson, back after missing time with a rib injury, qualified sixth, followed by rookies Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman, four-time Pocono winner Rusty Wallace and Stewart.

Sterling Marlin had the pole in June when qualifying was canceled because water from torrential rains in the days leading up to the Pocono 500 seeped through the track surface. Marlin, awarded that pole because he was the series points leader, qualified 13th Friday.

Jarrett qualified 15th.