Mixed weekend for Ambrose, no happy ending

Marcos Ambrose had hoped to be driving in both the Nationwide and the Sprint Cup this weekend.

However he failed to qualify for th sprint cup and therefore missed his first start on a oval in the main series. In the end he came home 14th in the Nationwide series race.

“We’re hanging in there. We’re in the middle of the main bunch, which is all you can really ask for.”  

The  result leaves him in 13th place in the standings. 

Ambrose stars but gearbox failure rules outs him out

Courtesy of marcosambrose.com we provide the following press release on Marcos  Ambrose Sprint Cup Debut.

 Marcos Ambrose has starred during his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut only to suffer a heartbreaking finish to the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California today.

Ambrose ran as high as second and was one of the fastest cars on the track throughout the race around the 1.99-mile (3.20km) road course, but luck was not with the Australian and his #21 Little Debbie Honey Buns Ford Fusion. 

Ambrose suffered a gearbox failure on lap 84 of the 110-lap race as a result of an impact from behind from the #19 car of Elliott Sadler, ending what was a sensational performance by the Australian. 

The hit came just as Ambrose was engaging first gear under braking into Turn 7, breaking the gear and putting a hole in the gearbox casing. With oil spewing from underneath his Ford, Ambrose’s day was done and he immediately parked his car in pitlane. 

Before the incident Ambrose had been one of the cars to beat. The driver from Launceston, Tasmania started from seventh position and made a cautious start, dropping to ninth. 

But once the dust had settled on the start Ambrose got to work and climbed up the order, up into fourth by lap 29 when a caution period gave the leaders an opportunity to pit. 

Strategy by some other cars, who pitted just before the caution flag flew, meant that the field was jumbled for the restart, with the leaders set back into the midpack, Ambrose in 17th position.

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Ambrose grabs 6th in Kentucky

The following article is courtesy of marcosambrose.com 

Marcos Ambrose has grabbed his third top 10 finish for the season with an outstanding sixth place finish in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky today. 

Today’s result, which saw Ambrose as the highest-placed Ford, lifts him one spot to 13th in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver’s standings, just 54 points outside of the top 10. 

Ambrose earned his best starting spot for the season so far by qualifying third in the #59 STP Ford Fusion, running strongly in the top 10 all night at the 1.5-mile speedway. 

The Australian driver was quick to give credit and praise to his crew chief Gary Cogswell after the great finish. The result is the ninth race from 16 so far this season where Ambrose has finished in the top 20. 

Ambrose started from third position but dropped to fourth on the first lap. Once settled into the race Ambrose jumped back past David Stremme to regain third position on lap 25 and as the first round of green flag pit stops played out, Ambrose led several laps, giving him five bonus points towards his championship standings. 

Ambrose continued to run strongly over the course of the 200-lap race and came home with great car speed, a positive sign entering the next series of races. 

18-year-old Joey Logano won today’s Meijer 300 in just his third NASCAR Nationwide Series start, becoming the youngest race winner in series history. Scott Wimmer was second and Mike Wallace third. 

Next weekend sees Ambrose aim to make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on June 22. 

Ambrose will have to qualify on speed in the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers Racing, as that car lies outside the top 35 in owner’s points and is therefore not guaranteed a starting spot. 

Ambrose will pull ‘double duty’ next weekend, continuing his NASCAR Nationwide Series campaign with the Camping World RV Rental 250 at The Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday June 21. 

Qualifying for the Cup event will be held on Friday June 20 and if Ambrose qualifies for the race, he will participate in two practice sessions at Infineon Raceway on Saturday, which will mean that Robert Pressley will serve as a back-up driver for Ambrose in practice and qualifying in Milwaukee. 

QUOTES – MARCOS AMBROSE 

“Gary Cogswell has done a great job for us as a new crew chief,” said Ambrose. 

“He got us all back on the same page. We got back to some basics. It’s taken him seven races to get us there, but I feel like we're really starting to turn a corner. 

“It was just a solid run. We didn’t panic any where through the race. We didn't panic three, four or five races ago. 
We just knew that we had to get back to basics and understand what we had and start working it out.” 

Q: WAS IT IMPORTANT HAVING A GOOD RUN GOING INTO NEXT WEEK’S DOUBLE DUTY? 
“I guess it justifies a little bit why were going out there. We're going out there to try and stay in the points and see if we can get ourselves back in the top 10, so it helps with that. That was good, so we'll try and do double duty next week and see how it goes.” 

Q: DID THE CAR FEEL BETTER THAN IT HAS IN THE PAST? IS IT A HANDLING THING? 
“It’s just understanding what these cars need. I haven’t done a very good job of trying to get what I need and Gary has been good enough to listen to what I’m saying and make changes and we’re heading in the right direction.” 

Q: YOU RAN IN THE TOP 10 ALL NIGHT. 
“Yeah, it’s nice isn’t it? It’s a nice change. I’m pretty pumped with that. There’s a lot of expectation on us this year being the second year. We want to get back to top 10 in points. We just want to run solid top-10s all week, every weekend. That’s the first time we've generally been in the top 10 all day. I'm pretty proud of my guys.” 

Ambrose has a top 20 in Nashville

Marcos Ambrose has had a ‘rock and roll’ of a race, recovering from a mid-race incident to claim 19th place in the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee today. 

Ambrose qualified in 16th position in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion and was running a solid race in the early stages, moving into the top 15 until a setback on lap 78 that resulted in an up and down race for driver from Launceston, Tasmania. 

The Australian driver was caught up in an incident when Steven Wallace spun while trying to pass a lapped car. Ambrose had no where to go and was forced up into the wall and also suffered contact to his left front guard. 

The incident dropped Ambrose down a lap as his crew made repairs, but he persevered and climbed back into the top 20, finishing in 19th position to salvage some points from the race. 

Brad Keselowski won today’s Federated Auto Parts 300 ahead of David Stremme and David Reutimann. 

Ambrose will be back in action next weekend at Kentucky Speedway for race 16 in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series. 

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion 
"Today was just one of those days when I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Ambrose. 

"Everything was going along just nicely, then (Steven) Wallace got loose in front of me and i had nowwhere to go, from there is was a case of recovering to gain as many points as possible and getting to the end. 

"I feel as though we had some good car speed today and was confident of a top ten finish, but it just wasn't to be." 

from marcosambrose.com