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Kobalt Tools 500 Report
AMBROSE
FINISHES 11TH IN ATLANTA
HAMPTON, GA — After
two green-white-checkered flag attempts at Atlanta Motor
Speedway, Marcos Ambrose recorded a top-15 finish for
a second week in a row on Sunday. The Australian driver
brought his No. 47 Lance Toyota backed by Little Debbie
home in 11th-place and advanced his JTG Daugherty Racing
team five positions to 28th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series points standings.
“We survived a couple of crashes at the end
and finished 11th with our Lance Toyota,” Ambrose
said. “It was our first race for Lance and we
really wanted to finish strong.”
In the closing laps, Ambrose capitalized avoiding
multiple accidents during the scheduled 325-lap event
that finally ended at lap 341. One of those incidents
included the No. 99 car of Carl Edwards making contact
with Brad Keselowski’s No. 12 that launched him
into the air upside down at lap 322. Then on a restart
at lap 331, Jamie McMurray got loose and made contact
with Clint Bowyer’s car collecting Martin Truex
Jr., Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin.
“It was wild there at the end, and I’m
glad everyone’s alright,” Ambrose said.
When Ambrose started his engine for the Kobalt Tools
500 early Sunday afternoon, he rolled off pit road
in 12th place for the 500-mile race. He easily maintained
a top 15 run, and crew chief Frank Kerr called him
to pit road for the first time at lap 36 for four tires
and to raise the track bar a quarter-round. The No.
47 Toyota left pit road in 10th place for the
restart on lap 39 that immediately resulted in another
caution when Keselowski tapped Edwards which sent his
car scooting up the track into Joey Logano. Ambrose
restarted 10th again with Kyle Busch leading the field
to green.
On lap 46, Ambrose moved forward into eighth place
before reporting his car was hitting the ground as
he raced around the track. As his right rear tire began
to wear out, Ambrose slid outside the top 10. When
a debris caution occurred at lap 78, Ambrose entered
pit road for four tires, a packer and an air pressure
adjustment. On lap 83, Ambrose restarted 20th.
“It had no grip,” Ambrose said.
The JTG Daugherty Racing pit crew went to work on
the No. 47 again under caution at lap 116.
“They made a track bar and wedge adjustment
and put on fresh tires,” Ambrose said. “It
was really loose off.”
Restarting 16th at lap 119, Ambrose was still faced
with his car hitting the ground hard upsetting the
balance. Even though he did not have grip, he was still
running in the top 15.
A caution for Logano blowing a tire at lap 157 allowed
Ambrose to come back into the pits for four tires and
another track bar and air adjustment.
“It was pushy loose off and hitting the ground,” Ambrose
said.
The green flag waved at lap 164, and Ambrose was scored
in 21st place. Running 13th at lap 189, Ambrose was loose
in and loose off with no forward drive. Holding onto
a top-15 spot, he came down pit road under green at lap
210 for four tires and more adjustments. The team kept
after the handling and pitted Ambrose again at lap 226
under caution.
“It was still hitting the ground and was loose,” Ambrose
said.
On the restart at lap 229, Ambrose quickly reported
to Kerr that his car was plowing like a dump truck.
On lap 274 under green, the JTG Daugherty Racing team
went to work again. As the race went on, Ambrose repeatedly
pitted hoping to find a balance.
“It was hard to keep the car constant,” said
Ambrose, who also pitted at laps 289, 294 and 327. “We
just kept after it.”
At the end of the race Ambrose dodged a couple of
accidents, which paid dividends for the JTG Daugherty
Racing team. Ambrose crossed the finish line in 11th
place in the fourth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series season.
Kurt Busch held off Matt Kenseth for the victory. Juan
Pablo Montoya was third, Kasey Kahne was fourth and
Paul Menard was fifth. Courtesy
Jennifer Chapple, JTG Daugherty Racing
Kobalt Tools 500 Results:
1. Kurt Busch
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Paul Menard
6. A.J. Allmendinger
7. Brian Vickers
8. Greg Biffle
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Scott Speed
11. Marcos Ambrose
Next Race — Food
City 500:
Where: Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN
Time: Sunday, March 21, 2010
Network & Time: FOX Television, 1:00 p.m.
/ PRN Radio, 12 p.m. EST
All Times Eastern
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