NASCAR at Pocono 2017 Qualifying Results: Kyle Busch Takes 2nd Straight Pole

Kyle Busch will start from the pole position in Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, after posting the best time in the final round of qualifying Friday afternoon.

It's the second pole of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for Busch, who sits in fourth place in the standings through 13 races. He'll be joined on the front row by Martin Truex Jr. for the series' first of two visits to Pocono this year.

Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney are set to take the green flag from the second row.

Here's a look at the complete qualifying results via NASCAR.com:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Martin Truex Jr.

3. Matt Kenseth

4. Ryan Blaney

5. Kurt Busch

6. Brad Keselowski

7. Kyle Larson

8. Jamie McMurray

9. Joey Logano

10. Ryan Newman

11. Michael McDowell

12. Kevin Harvick

13. Paul Menard

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Erik Jones

16. Darrell Wallace Jr.

17. Austin Dillon

18. Denny Hamlin

19. Jimmie Johnson

20. Clint Bowyer

21. A.J. Allmendinger

22. Trevor Bayne

23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

24. Danica Patrick

25. Chase Elliott

26. Kasey Kahne

27. Ty Dillon

28. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

29. Chris Buescher

30. Matt DiBenedetto

31. David Ragan

32. Cole Whitt

33. Gray Gaulding

34. Landon Cassill

35. Corey LaJoie

36. Reed Sorenson

37. Jeffrey Earnhardt

38. Cody Ware

39. Derrike Cope

Busch will hope his second straight start from the pole will go better than the first. He started from the top spot in last week's AAA 400 Drive for Autism but only managed a 16th-place finish. That was his worst result since Richmond in late April.

The 2015 Cup Series champion credited his team for the strong qualifying run before noting the conditions will change during the race, per Tom Jensen of Fox Sports.

"It's all about the speed our guys have been bringing to the race track," Busch said "…It's only going to get more hot and slick."

Meanwhile, the struggles of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his final Cup Series campaign before retirement continued Friday. The fan favorite was enjoying a strong practice session early in the day ahead of qualifying before enduring engine trouble.

He provided an update on social media:

It's the latest setback in what's quickly becoming a farewell season to forget for the No. 88 team. Junior is 22nd in the standings, and while there's still time to make a surge toward the playoffs, he's going to need to start catching more breaks to make it happen.

Qualifying almost marked the competitive Cup Series debut for Darrell Wallace Jr. The 23-year-old rising star is replacing Aric Almirola, who remains sidelined with a back injury following a violent crash last month, for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Brant James of USA Today noted the driver affectionately known as "Bubba" will be the first African-American competitor to race at the sport's highest level since 2006. He's embracing the opportunity and hoping his arrival can help jump-start a trend of more diversity.

"This is a huge step for NASCAR, the whole sport in general, for bringing diversity to its top tier level. I'm glad to be leading the forefront of that right now," Wallace said. "It just shows that we're trying to bring in a new demographic. We're trying to bring in a new face, get a younger generation, no matter what color, what age. We're trying to get everybody involved to bring NASCAR back."

Wallace arrives having enjoyed a strong start to the Xfinity Series season. He registered seven top-10 finishes in 11 races before getting the call to fill in for Almirola this week.

He'll start from the No. 16 position Sunday in what will be a terrific learning experience. Taking his place in the iconic No. 43 car is an important moment for both his budding career and NASCAR as a whole.

Looking ahead, parity has been the name of the game in the Cup Series in recent weeks. The last seven races have produced seven different winners if you include the Monster Energy Open and the All-Star Race during NASCAR's recent All-Star Weekend.

Busch and his brother, reigning race winner Kurt Busch, are among the contenders to watch in what should be another hotly contested battle Sunday afternoon.