Marcos Ambrose made massive progress in the latest round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this morning with the running of the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it was another race where luck simply wasn’t riding with the Australian.

After side-swiping the wall during his qualifying laps, Ambrose was forced to start his JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Camry from 41st position out of 43 starters, but his 20 place improvement during the race to finish in 21st was the biggest gain out of any driver in the field.

Ambrose was running in a race high 13th position within sight of the chequered flag, but an incident involving early race leader Juan Pablo Montoya, saw the number 47 Kroger/Clorox Camry take evasive action, being forced to pit for repairs.

The result however was Ambrose’s best finish to date at the famous venue.

“There’s a lot of positives to take from today,” Marcos Ambrose said.

“We kept chipping away at it all race long, and the crew once again did an awesome job.

“It’s a shame about the drama at the end, we deserved a big result after that run, and I think a top-ten was on the cards, but it’s not to be.

“We’re now off to Pocono and Watkins Glen, if we can buy some luck we’re a big chance of getting the results we’re looking for.

“The road course at Watkins Glen has been marked on our calendar for some time, that’s going to be a big weekend running in both the Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series, we can’t wait.”

A first lap pile up involving Sam Hornish Jnr, Reed Sorrenson, David Reutimann, Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch and Elliot Sadler saw Ambrose take to the infield grass, avoiding the melee.

After pitting to clear his front grill of debris, Ambrose restarted the race on lap seven in 26th position.

The yellow lights were flashing again nine laps later when Robby Gordon met the wall, and after a full round of pit stops, Ambrose restarted in 20th.

Following on from a round of green flag stops on lap 47, Ambrose was running in 23rd, the same position he held after a caution for debris on lap 66.

On lap 91, Ambrose made it past series champion Jimmie Johnson, and after more green flag pit stops on lap 96, the Australian was listed in 20th position.

Successive debris related cautions on lap 116 and 138 saw Ambrose move up into 15th position with only 18 laps remaining.

When Montoya collected the wall and Dale Earnhardt Jnr on lap 146, Ambrose’s evasive action saw him head to the pits for a swift stop, lining up for the final restart in 23rd place.

Passing Jimmie Johnson once again in the run to the finish gave Ambrose 21st in the final results.

The race was won by Jamie McMurray, who became only the third driver behind Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson to win both the Brickyard 400 and the Daytona 500 in the same year.

Race highlights will be shown on Fox Sports 3 tonight, with further replays on One HD hosted by Marcos Ambrose from Tuesday night.

Next weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to the tri-oval at Pocono Raceway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Review

Indianapolis Motor Speedway- Brickyard 400
1. Jamie McMurray (Chevrolet)
2. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)
3. Greg Biffle (Ford)
4. Clint Bowyer (Chevrolet)
5. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)
6. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
7. Carl Edwards (Ford)
8. Kyle Busch (Toyota)
9. Joey Logano (Toyota)
10. Kurt Busch (Dodge)
21. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (after race 20 of 36)
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)- 2920 points
2. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)- 2736
3. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)- 2660
4. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)- 2659
5. Kurt Busch (Dodge)- 2658
6. Matt Kenseth (Ford)- 2630
7. Kyle Busch (Toyota)- 2615
8. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)- 2573
9. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)- 2544
10. Carl Edwards (Ford)- 2496
11. Greg Biffle (Ford)- 2462
12. Clint Bowyer (Chevrolet)- 2446
27. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)- 1839

Next Event
Pocono Raceway- Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times

Race Replays
Fox Sports 3 (Plus Fox Sports 3HD)- Monday July 26th, 9:30pm – 12:30pm
Fox Sports 2 (Plus Fox Sports 2HD)- Tuesday July 27th, 9:00am – 12:00pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Tuesday July 27th, 8:30pm – 9:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Wednesday July 28th, 3:30pm – 6:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Friday July 30th, 6:30am – 9:30am
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Saturday July 31st, 10:30am – 11:30am

For further information on Marcos Ambrose, visit www.marcosambrose.com.au.