Marcos Ambrose was originally to pull ‘double duty’ this weekend in both the NASCAR Busch car at Milwaukee and in an Aussie Vineyards Ford in the NASCAR Nextel Cup event at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. With Ambrose positioned well inside the NASCAR Busch Series top 10 and theRaybestos Rookie of the Year title withinreach, it has been decided to delay the talented Australian’s Nextel Cup debut until August 12 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York.
Marcos Ambrose has jumped back into the top 10 in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a strong day earned him 11th place in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky on Saturday. The solid finish lifts Ambrose up to eighth place in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series standings and the Australian continues to sit in second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings behind fellow Ford driver David Ragan. Ambrose will next compete in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion in the A####mp;T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23.
“This was a great day for our team. Wood Brothers/JTG Racing had two cars running inside the top 10 for most of the race today and everyone put in an excellent performance. It definitely feels like I have got a handle on these 1.5-mile ovals now. The next step is to get a little better on the short tracks, so we will see how we go next weekend on the flat, one mile oval in Milwaukee.”
Ambrose is second in the points among Busch regulars and is becoming a candidate for the 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Ford in Cup next year in light of Jon Wood's recent health issues.
Marcos Ambrose retains his eighth position in the overall Busch Series Standings overall and his second place standing in the Busch Class. He also maintains his tight tussle with ex-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year competition. Montoya finished one place ahead of Ambrose last Friday night.
Ambrose ran comfortably inside the top 15 for the first half of the race. The two-time Australian V8 Supercar Champion dropped down the order slightly in the flurry of late-race pit stops and once among the battling on the verge of the top 20 he was unable to forge a break and get back up the order. Ambrose encountered a close shave on the final lap of the race as he avoided a series of clashes that culminated in his Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team-mate Jon Wood crashing when he was left no where to go when cars spun on the track.
“We were running well and felt good in the early part of the race,” said Ambrose. “It shows some of the progress we have been making that we can qualify in the top ten and run well on a one-mile oval like Phoenix. This is a tough race track and it was a tough field out here today. It certainly felt good running around with all the Cup guys in the first part of the race. "We ran well, showed some speed and we kept our spot in the standings."
Marcos Ambrose sits eighth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a tough day in the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas Saturday. Ambrose was classified as 31st in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion after a trying day ended in a crash with Raybestos Rookie of the Year rival Juan Pablo Montoya exiting turn two with 21 laps remaining. The crash put both cars out of the race. Ambrose was quick to walk to Montoya’s pit to apologise for the incident. The Australian was battling with a broken front shock absorber and was attempting to reach the finish with the ill-handling car when the two came into contact as Ambrose drifted wide as the two ran side-by-side.
“We had a long day out there today,” said Ambrose. “With about 70 laps to go we broke a front shock and we were struggling a little bit. From there we were just running around trying to get to the finish.
“I went and said sorry to Juan Pablo and he was good about it. Unfortunately for him he was having a good race but had problems of his own that set him back before we got caught up. “We were both running to get to the finish and unfortunately my car wasn’t handling very well and I got up a bit high, we touched and that was it. I feel bad for it and it wasn’t intentional, but that sort of thing happens sometimes.
Ambrose fell from first place in the "Busch Class" to second as a result of the accident with Montoya. Bobby Hamilton Jr. took the points lead among "Busch Guys."
Marcos Ambrose returns to the venue of one of his finest performances when he tackles the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee this weekend. Ambrose was a fine third in his last visit to Nashville while competing in last year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the #20 Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150 last August. Now Ambrose gets the opportunity to reacquaint himself with the 1.333-mile concrete-surfaced speedway in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion as he strives for another strong finish. The Australian sits seventh in the NASCAR Busch Series points standings after six races and is the highest-placed non-Nextel Cup driver. Ambrose is also second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, locked in a battle with former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya and the likes of NASCAR young gun David Ragan for the prestigious award.
“I’m really excited about Nashville,” said Ambrose. “For some reason, on those concrete tracks, I get a good feel on them. I ran well at Dover, and I just feel like I can feel the car advancing on the concrete tracks. Nashville being slightly smaller than a one-and-a-half-mile speedway – like Lowe’s or Texas – I think is good for me, too, because the speed is slightly slower and you can be more aggressive behind the wheel. “I’m really looking forward to Nashville, and I hope to duplicate what I did there last year in the truck series this weekend.
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