Long Pond, Pa. ? Bill Elliott was getting tired, but so was Sterling Marlin’s car.

So, Elliott, who had stalked Marlin throughout the race, finally passed Marlin with 21 laps remaining Sunday and took the crash- and rain-delayed Pennsylvania 500 to set a record with his fifth career victory at Pocono Raceway.

Rescue workers prepare to load Steve Park's car on a truck. Park and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were involved in a crash on the first lap of the Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday in Long Pond, Pa.

“I’m not getting any younger,” Elliott said after winning what amounted to a marathon on wheels. “It took a toll on my clock.”

The win was the first on the mountaintop since 1989 for the 46-year-old driver from Dawsonville, Ga. It also was the 42nd victory for the 1988 NASCAR champion, who went winless in six years as an owner-driver before selling his team and joining Evernham Motorsports last season.

Ray Evernham isn’t surprised by the resurgence of Elliott.

“I knew he was a great driver when I hired him,” the car owner said.

The race lasted 6 hours, 35 minutes, 51 seconds because of the rain and a spectacular accident involving Steve Park on the first lap. Park was not injured in the crash, which forced a delay of 1:05 while repairs were made to the infield retaining wall just beyond the first turn.

Less than a half-hour later, rain caused another red flag, which halted the $3.7 million event for an additional 2:02 after the 27th of 175 laps. The race was halted 25 laps short of its scheduled distance because of darkness.

“I want to thank God for being with me and not getting hurt,” said Park, who missed 12 of 36 races last year while recovering from a head injury. “I was trapped and I tried to stay calm.”

The crash, which also involved Park teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., Rusty Wallace and Ricky Craven, forced the track to replace 16 support posts and 110 feet of guardrail.

The accident began when Wallace hit the wall after leaving the first turn on the 21/2-mile track. Park attempted to avoid contact, but got sideways and was hit hard by Earnhardt.

On a TV replay, it appeared that Wallace veered into Park. Craven then hit Park in the rear, causing him to get sideways and into the path of Earnhardt.

“I was on the outside of Rusty … and he started moving up,” Park said. “I backed off, then he pulled back down like his spotter might have said something was on the outside.”

Wallace refused to blame his spotter, but conceded that in close racing a spotter cannot always see that well.

“You’re supposed to drive the car yourself,” he said.

Park’s Chevrolet, pushed across the grass by Earnhardt’s car, hit the steel wall and was badly crumpled, then flipped twice before coming to rest on its roof. It took course workers several minutes to free Park, who emerged to cheers from a crowd of 100,000.

Marlin dominated the race, leading 106 laps. But Elliott got by Marlin with a bold move on the high side as the cars approached the second turn, and drove away.

Polesitter Elliott led 35 laps, and beat the Ford of Kurt Busch by 1.721 seconds.