Ambrose 23rd at New Hampshire in Rain-Shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Event

LOUDON, N.H. (6/29/09) - - Marcos Ambrose, who was a little under the weather on Sunday, drove his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota to a 23rd-place finish in the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 during race number 17 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The top-25 finish helped the JTG-Daugherty Racing team maintain 18th-place in the owner championship standings. Joey Logano earned his first-career victory while Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, David Reutimann and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five.

On Friday, qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather. With NASCAR setting the field by the rulebook based on the owner points standings, Ambrose started 18th as Tony Stewart led the field to the green flag with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards in tow.

The Australian driver maintained his top 20 run with a loose handling Little Debbie® Toyota that he brought down pit road on Lap 16 for four tires, and an air pressure and wedge adjustment.

“We were loose in and loose off and it had no forward drive,” Ambrose said.

Restarting in 27th-place on Lap 19, Ambrose’s radioed the team a couple laps later to tell them they made changes in the right direction and the car’s handling had improved. He more so liked the feeling the changes gave him on entry. On Lap 47 under caution in 22nd-place, the No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota entered pit road again for a quarter round track bar adjustment, a half turn in on wedge and no tires.

“It felt like the left front was too high and it didn’t have a lot of drive off the left rear,” Ambrose said.

As green flag racing continued, Ambrose was 22nd and remained loose both in and off the corners. The caution flag waved again at Lap 59 and crew chief Frank Kerr took advantage of the opportunity to call Ambrose to pit road for four tires, more adjustments and instructed the pit crew remove a spring rubber out of the left rear.

On Lap 63, Ambrose took the green in 29th-place and quickly returned to the top 25. As the race progressed, leader Jimmie Johnson was on a rail and making his way around several cars to put them one lap down. As Johnson had Ambrose in sight on Lap 115, the Australian driver was running lap times as fast as the Lowe’s machine while scored in 19th-place. With green flag pits stops taking place soon after, Ambrose gave up 11th-place and entered pit road on Lap 124 for four fresh tires. He ended up being scored one lap down to leader Johnson when he returned to the track.

“We had lost forward drive,” Ambrose said.

After pitting, Kerr told Ambrose he turned his quickest lap on 128 up until that point while running 28th. When the caution flag was displayed again at Lap 146, Kerr decided to take their chances and stay out to hopefully catch a caution and advance onto the lead lap. Nearly 20 laps later, Kerr’s plan worked and Ambrose was the Lucky Dog recipient.

“It worked in our favor,” Kerr said.

On the restart at Lap 174, Ambrose’s spotter Al DiRusso’s yelled ‘stop, stop, stop’ as several cars fell victim to an incident that happed when spun his tires on the restart and Truex had nowhere to go as the 18 car of Kyle Busch got into the back of his car that caused a chain reaction.

“Marcos had to come to his pit box because we thought he may have locked up the tires and he had grass in the grill from trying to avoid the incident,” Kerr said. “We had him come in just in case and get the screen cleaned.”

With multiple cars involved, NASCAR red flagged the event on Lap 175 and Ambrose was in the 23rd position. NASCAR hurriedly cleaned the track as rain loomed outside New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After taking four tires on Lap 177, he was 23rd when the field returned to racing with Jeff Gordon leading the way as the battle for the top spot heated up between him, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson with the double file restart.

“It was just crazy loose,” Ambrose said. “I thought we might be in big trouble.”

Another caution occurred at Lap 187 for incident involving Logano as it started to mist.

“We knew the rain was coming,” Kerr said.

On Lap 189, the challenge for the lead was greater than before as Jeff Gordon led the field to green. Tony Stewart was in second and Kyle Busch in third. Busch slid up and made contact with the 48 car while Stewart was on the bottom. As this was going on up front, the yellow flag waved for an accident involving the No. 82 car.

Ambrose was 19th on the restart at Lap 195 and was extremely loose. Keeping his top-20 form, the frontrunners started to pit around Lap 235 when leader Tony Stewart headed to pit road. With teams ahead of Ambrose pitting, he was scored as high as third-place before making his green flag stop on Lap 239 for four tires. He returned to the track 27th.

While 24th on Lap 262, Ambrose’s spotter told Kerr that the rain was close. Five laps later it started to mist again as Ambrose was on pit road at Lap 272 for four tires and a shock adjustment. The next lap NASCAR brought the field down pit road and parked the cars with Logano in the lead due to opting to stay out and not pit. The 19-year-old went on to win his first career victory.

Ambrose finished 23rd after completing 273 laps of the scheduled 301 lap event and his teammate David Reutimann finished fourth while Michael Waltrip finished 24th.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway. Live coverage of the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The event will also air on MRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite.

Ambrose Takes Reutimann to School (in case you missed on TNT)

Ambrose Comes from Rear of Field to Score Best Finish of Season at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (6/22/09) - - Marcos Ambrose rallied back from an engine change to cross the finish line third in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the 1.99-mile Infineon Raceway road course. It is his second top-five of the season and best finish of the year in his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota. The third-place finish matched his career-best finish at Watkins Glen International Raceway last season.

“I was hot, I was mad, I was happy and I was sad all together,” said Ambrose, who came to Sonoma with expectations to win. “I’m just proud of my JTG-Daugherty Racing team. They trusted me to drive their car and took a chance on putting me in the car. No one really knew what I was all about and I just have to thank all of them. I have to also thank Michael Waltrip Racing too for giving us great support. It’s just an awesome combination and a great group of guys.

“We had a bad day on Saturday and we were in the hole pretty good,” Ambrose continued. “They just rallied around me and gave me the support I needed, the confidence to go out there to just get aggressive and not skip a beat.”

“We did the same thing at Watkins Glen last year - - started in the rear and drove up to third - - and took chances and got lucky,” Ambrose said. “This race we burnt up the tires and couldn’t get forward bite. But, we know we are doing it right when we are racing next to a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion (Tony Stewart) and a Formula One and Indy 500 winner (Juan Pablo Montoya). I just love racing with Smoke (Tony Stewart). I think he’s one of the best road course racers out there. I’m just proud to be here and be able to race with all the guys. It’s a privilege for me.”

After being first in two out of three practice sessions and qualifying third, Ambrose was forced to start in the rear of the 43-car field due to an engine change on Saturday. His engine blew near the end of second practice. Ambrose was sidelined the majority of final practice and was only able to make a couple laps. In the final moments of the last session, Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson made contact with one another causing the JTG-Daugherty Racing team to have to work feverishly and repair right front end damage Saturday afternoon.

“It was unfortunate that happened,” Ambrose said. “I’m not superstitious, but we had a lot of bad things happen to us on Saturday. I attended a function for Infineon Raceway the night before and they put me at table 13. I asked them if they thought that was a good idea. The next day, we had all those things happen to us. I even cut myself shaving this morning. That’s how bad this weekend has gone. We’ve just got a resilient attitude; a never say die attitude. Thank goodness at the end of the day, we were able to make our own luck.”

It was more than just luck for Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing team. It was Ambrose racing smart, taking care of his equipment and his team having a good pit strategy that played out the way they needed it to in the end.

Recapping the event, Ambrose took the green flag and moved up to 33^rd on the first lap. He was the second fastest car on the track according to his crew chief Frank Kerr.

“Even though we were really fast, the No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota Camry was stiff in the front and soft in the rear,” Ambrose said. “We were not losing ground to the leader, so we just hung out for a while.”

Once Ambrose was mired in traffic and running in the top 25, Kerr stuck with their strategy to pit. The No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota entered pit road on Lap 12 for a green flag stop. After the team changed four tires, Ambrose returned to the track in 40^th-place and was faster than leader Brian Vickers (polesitter) by a couple of seconds.

Still faster than the leader -- this time Kyle Busch -- Ambrose was running 39^th when another caution happened at Lap 20. As cars ahead of Ambrose pitted, Kerr told him to stay out for track position even though his car was too soft in the rear and hitting the track arm. They restarted 17^th on Lap 24. One after another Ambrose picked off positions. “I felt like I passed 200 cars during the race,” Ambrose said.

With teams having different pit strategies, Ambrose showed up on the top 10 scene at Lap 27 for the first time. Continuing his march forward, he was fifth at Lap 29 as leader Tony Stewart and others headed to pit road.

The new leader and eventual winner was Kasey Kahne and second place was occupied by Ryan Newman while Ambrose hooked his claws into third place. On Lap 40, Ambrose gave up third place and headed to pit road under green.

“They put on four tires and put a round in to get it off the ground,” Ambrose said.

Reentering the track in 32^nd-place, Ambrose went to work again and was faster than the frontrunners. “We still needed grip,” Ambrose said. When the yellow flag was displayed at Lap 52 for debris the team did not lose sight of their strategy.

“We were sticking to our game plan,” Kerr said. “We stayed out. I told Ambrose to shut the motor off or do whatever he had to do to save fuel just in case. He was doing an incredible job out there. It was fun for us to watch. He’s really talented. There’s no doubt about it.”

Not pitting placed the Australian in 13^th place when the field returned to green flag racing on Lap 56. The 32-year-old was back inside the top 10 on Lap 57 and climbed to fifth place four laps later. At that time, he was the fastest car inside the top five.

On Lap 68, Ambrose told Kerr all he needed was a little track bar adjustment. Two laps later he moved into third-place again. On Lap 75, he was in second place entering pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires and the track bar adjustment he called for to improve handling.

Ambrose tried to blend in with other cars exiting pit road, his car and the No. 96 car of Bobby Labonte made contact bringing out the third caution of the race. There was slight damage to the No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota’s right front fender, but Ambrose insisted he did not need it repaired since it was not rubbing his right front tire.

“I didn’t mean to get into him,” said Ambrose, who exited pit road in 12^th-place.

“When that happened we were trying to see how much damage there was and whether or not we needed to bring him in,” Kerr said. “Fortunately, he was alright. I told him to turn his car off to save fuel. Him and Tony (Stewart) had the best tires out there.” Cautions breed cautions and there were four more in the closing laps. Caution laps 84-87 involved an incident with the No. 71 and 77 cars in Turn 11 and 91-93 was for Kurt Busch being spun around near Turn 8. After a debris caution for Laps 98 and 99, the field restarted at Lap 100 with Kasey Kahne leading, Tony Stewart in second and Ambrose is third.

“With all the cautions and double-file restarts at the end, all you’re thinking is that you’ve worked so hard to be in the top three and instead of finishing in one of those spots there’s a chance you can be wrecked and finish 33^rd instead,” Ambrose said. “We had just worked so hard to get there.” It continued to be challenging as Ambrose was faced with a green-white-checker scenario after Scott Speed’s No. 87 Toyota spun around in Turn 7. Everyone lined up for one last double-file restart. Kahne was still first, Stewart in second and Ambrose was tucked in behind him in third with Jimmie Johnson at his door. As the green flag waved for the final time, Ambrose was in the hunt for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Coming to the checkered flag Kahne scored the win, Stewart finished second with Ambrose in tow. Jimmie Johnson finished fourth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Live coverage on Sunday begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The event will also air on PRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite.

Ambrose Finishes 31st at MIS, Looks Ahead to Road-Course in Sonoma

Marcos Ambrose battled a loose handling No. 47 RaceSavers.com Toyota Camry to finish 31st at Michigan International Speedway in the LifeLock 400. Mark Martin won the 200-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, Jeff Gordon finished second, Denny Hamlin third, Carl Edwards fourth and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five.

Ambrose’s teammates David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip finished 19th and 30th respectively. Leaving the two-mile, D-shaped oval, Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing team is 20th in the championship standings after completing race number 15 of 36.

“We were just loose, loose, loose,” Ambrose said. “Frankie (Kerr) and the guys made a lot of changes, but the car didn’t respond the way we needed it to. We’ll lick our wounds and go on to Sonoma where we know we’ll have a great package. We just didn’t know what to expect this weekend.”

Qualifying took place on Friday and Ambrose qualified 33rd. Two days later when the NASCAR official waved the green flag, it didn’t take long for Ambrose to key up the radio and tell crew chief Frank Kerr he was loose off and the left front of the car was hitting too hard. His teammates were both extremely loose too.

At Lap 35, the JTG-Daugherty team was in 36th position and Ambrose thought the car was starting to come around. During a green-flag stop four laps later, Kerr called for a chassis adjustment, four tires and fuel. As Ambrose went a lap down to leader Jimmie Johnson, his car continued to be extremely loose.

Under caution at Lap 75, Kerr and the JTG-Daugherty Racing team threw everything they had at the No. 47 RaceSavers.com Toyota Camry. They changed four tires, went down on the track bar, made an air pressure adjustment, and pulled a half rubber out of the left rear. “The RaceSavers.com Toyota was loose and I couldn’t get in with it,” Ambrose said. “It was zinging off the right rear.” Ambrose restarted 36th on Lap 77 with Jimmie Johnson leading the field.

“After they made the changes, it was so loose I couldn’t drive it,” Ambrose said. “It had no grip whatsoever. I felt like it was about to wreck.” On Lap 113, Ambrose was back on pit road for more adjustments. He returned to the track in 34th-place. “It was crazy loose,” Ambrose said. “They made more changes, put on four tires and pulled a rubber out of the right rear.”

A caution at Lap 120 allowed the JTG-Daugherty Racing crew to work on the car again. "They put more rubbers in the right rear and pulled a rubber out of the left rear,” Ambrose said. Ambrose took the green flag in 34th-place. “We didn’t have any rear grip,” Ambrose said.

With 32 laps remaining, the No. 47 RaceSavers.com pit crew took another stab at the car. “It was just loose again and needed forward bite,” Ambrose said. Ambrose completed 198 of 200 laps to finish 31st at Michigan International Speedway.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels out west for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway. Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty team tested at Virginia International Raceway twice along with Michael Waltrip Racing in preparation for their first road-course race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Live coverage from Sonoma on Sunday begins at 4:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The event will also air on PRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite.

Ambrose Building on Last Week’s Performance at Michigan International Speedway

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 9, 2009) – Early this week, Marcos Ambrose was all smiles when Matt Yocum interviewed him and David Reutimann for a TNT feature that will air leading up to the Toyota/SaveMart 350 next weekend at Infineon Raceway. His high-spirited demeanor is attributed to his sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway, a track he had never raced before.

“To run in the top 10 was a good day for us,” said Ambrose about his fourth career top-10 in 25 starts. “It really gives us a shot in the arm heading into Michigan. So far this year, it has been a great experience for me. Cup racing is like no other racing. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

Reutimann, who was paired with Ambrose for the interview, admitted he’s impressed with what Ambrose and the No. 47 RaceSavers.com Toyota JTG-Daugherty team has accomplished in such a short amount of time.

“Marcos goes to places like Bristol and Pocono where he’s never been before and finishes in the top 10. That’s impressive,” Reutimann said. “He drives hard all the time. He’s also been instrumental in helping me with my road racing. It’s beneficial to work with him and his team because it’s an easy fit for us. We always want to know what the other team is doing. We’re really getting our legs underneath us.”

The 32-year-old is equally impressed with Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry team.

“It was awesome to see David and his guys win the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway,” Ambrose said. “David’s a laid back guy, but behind the wheel, he is aggressive. He comes off the corner better than anybody. Each week the No. 00 is a target for me. I can see him, but haven't been able to get there. David’s fast anywhere he goes.”

This season Ambrose has been as fast scoring a fourth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, a tenth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway and more recently, his sixth-place finish at Pocono Raceway.

In 14 starts, he has nine top-20 finishes heading into Michigan International Speedway (MIS). He has one previous Cup start at MIS, completing only 17 of 200 laps before his engine expired. He also has two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts and one Camping World Truck Series start at the two-mile D-shaped oval.

“I was able to run a few laps at Michigan in a Cup car before my engine expired,” Ambrose said. “So, I’m not sure what to expect. I know the place is really fast and you can run just about anywhere. We’re hoping to keep our momentum alive there this weekend.”

Live coverage of the LifeLock 400 on Sunday starts at 12:30 p.m. on TNT. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also carry the event.

Ambrose captures his third top-10 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season

LONG POND, Penn. (June 7, 2009) – Marcos Ambrose scored his third top-10 finish of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by crossing the finish line sixth in the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. Ambrose and his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota advanced two positions in the championship standings to 18th-place. The Australian driver is building a good case for The Chase as he sits 210 points out of 12th-place.

His teammate, David Reutimann, finished third in the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry and returned to the top-12 (11th) in the championship standings. Also, Michael Waltrip and his No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry team rallied back to finish 17th. “JTG-Daugherty Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing had a strong showing at Pocono,” Ambrose said. “It gives us some momentum going into Michigan this week.”

On Friday, qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather and NASCAR lined up the 43-car field based on the NASCAR rulebook. In the driver’s meeting on Sunday, NASCAR explained the new double-file restart format that went into effect beginning with the Pocono 500 to make the racing more exciting. “Double-file restarts is a way for NASCAR to make the races more exciting for the fans,” Ambrose said.

As the race started that afternoon, Ambrose was 20th when the green flag waved for the 200-lap race. He quickly communicated to crew chief Frank Kerr that he was tight in traffic. As he made a few more laps, he slid outside the top-20 before pitting on Lap 14 for an air pressure and track bar adjustment. “We were tight in Turn 1 to the middle and free in Turns 2 and 3,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose returned to the top 20 following the restart a few laps later and closed in on the top 15. He was running lap times faster than leader Jimmie Johnson, but was too loose off. He moved around to find clean air and as the fuel burned off, the car’s handling improved. On a green flag stop at Lap 45, Ambrose came down pit road in 17th position for four tires and an air pressure adjustment. As the pit cycle was completed, Ambrose was running 16th -- still faster than the leader. While running 16th for the next several laps, his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota was free with no forward bite. On the next green flag stop at Lap 76, the JTG-Daugherty Racing team changed four tires and made an air pressure adjustment.

“It felt like I was sitting on the right rear,” Ambrose said. “We talked about trying to get the track bar up more,” Kerr said. At halfway, Ambrose still held on to 16th-place. Four laps later, a caution occurred for debris exiting Turn 2. Kerr called for a quarter round of wedge out and four tires. “We had put a quarter turn of wedge in it and it hurt him so we went back on what we did,” Kerr said. Back to green flag racing, Ambrose was 16th on Lap 108.

“The attitude of the car was fine after Frank made those changes,” Ambrose said. “We just needed to take another stab at it in that direction.” Ambrose made his way just outside the top-10 and was 13th when the caution flag was waved on Lap 112 with Carl Edwards shown as the race leader. After the restart five laps later, Ambrose was 12th. The next lap, he charged into the top 10 for a couple laps and then settled into the top 15.

“We were loose in and off,” Ambrose said. Ambrose was back on pit road on Lap 137 for four tires and adjustments. A debris caution at Lap 154 allowed the JTG-Daugherty team to take another stab at it. They changed tires again and went up three-eighths on the track bar as well as added a spring rubber. Kerr made the call for Ambrose to come back down pit road giving up valuable track position to top off for fuel. Ambrose dropped from 15th-place to 23rd, but the call proved to be the right one for the team as he was fast enough to regain his track position and make it to the end on fuel.

With 24 laps remaining, Ambrose returned to the top 15. By lap 187, he was eighth. “Marcos was running in the top 10, but I told him to back off and conserve fuel,” Kerr said.

On Lap 192, Ambrose was running seventh. Then on the final lap, Jimmie Johnson slowed as he started to run out of fuel. Ambrose passed him to cross the finish line in sixth place. Tony Stewart won the event.

Live coverage of the LifeLock 400 on Sunday starts at 12:30 p.m. on TNT. MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also carry the event.

Ambrose to Race in the Prelude to the Dream before Pocono 500

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 3, 2009) – Before traveling to Long Pond (Penn.) for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pocono 500, Marcos Ambrose takes to the half-mile, high-banked, Eldora Speedway dirt oval tonight. The Australian driver was recently invited to the Prelude to the Dream all-star dirt Late Model race lineup that features 25 renowned drivers. Some drivers include Tony Stewart, David Reutimann, Ryan Newman, Ron Capps, Kasey, Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick and more.

Tonight Ambrose battles for bragging rights live on HBO Pay-Per-View for a good cause as he races a 2,300 pound dirt Late Model stock car for the first time during the fifth annual event.
“It’s awesome to receive an invitation from Tony (Stewart) and the Prelude to the Dream is for a great cause,” said Ambrose, who is referring to proceeds from the telecast going to four military-themed charities: Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront, Fisher House.

“I'm jumping into the deep end because I don't have dirt experience like most of these drivers do. There’s a little pressure and I’m a bit nervous, but I’m going to do my best and finish well. I’m thankful that Tony asked me because it’s an incredible event he puts on annually. I know I’m going to have a lot of fun racing with those guys.”

On Friday, Ambrose is back to business as usual to practice and qualify his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota. He’s never raced at the 2.5-mile tri-oval nicknamed The Tricky Triangle, but he was able to test there last year.

“I was able to shake down a car there,” Ambrose said. “It’s just a different track like no other on the circuit. When you are going fast down the straight-aways, you’ve got to be precise on exit speeds. It’s a hard track and I don’t know what to expect.”
This week has also been a busy week for Ambrose. On Tuesday, Ambrose and David Reutimann tested at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in preparation for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

“Marcos is the best road course racer I have ever worked with and he was really fast at VIR,” Kerr said. “We have a great package for the Little Debbie® Toyota at Sonoma. We got in everything we wanted to try and Marcos was also able to work with David (Reutimann). We had a two-seater up there and Marcos gave David a few tips on hand positioning and shifting. David picked up a lot of time on his laps while we were there. It was a beneficial test for both Marcos and David. We all learned a lot from each other.”

The Prelude to the Dream tonight, live, commercial-free broadcast will begin at 7 PM ET/ 4 P PT, with an immediate replay and subsequent replays throughout the week and the following weekend. HBO Pay-Per-View's racing telecast has a suggested retail price of $24.95 and is available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. For more information, visit www.hbo.com/events/prelude/.

Live coverage of The Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on TNT, MRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.