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Daytona 500 Report
MARCOS
AMBROSE, FIRST AUSTRALIAN TO COMPETE IN THE DAYTONA
500, EARNS 17TH PLACE FINISH
DAYTONA, FL — Marcos
Ambrose has achieved his best Sprint Cup finish on an
oval with a strong performance in his Daytona 500 debut.
Ambrose was in 17th position on lap 152 when rain descended
on the 2.5-mile superspeedway, resulting in the race
being red flagged and ultimately ended the event 48
laps early. The finish gives the Australian a strong
start to his first full season in the top level of NASCAR.
Ambrose was lucky to avoid a 10-car pile-up on lap
125, triggered by contact between Dale Earnhardt Jr
and Brian Vickers, able to maneuver through the melee
to continue on and climb into the top 20. Ambrose finished
ahead of many established Sprint Cup stars such as
Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, and just one position
behind veteran Mark Martin.
Ambrose started from 23rd position in the No. 47 Little
Debbie® Toyota Camry, becoming the first Australian
to race in the world-famous Daytona 500. Handling was
an issue for Ambrose in the early stages, with the
Little Debbie® machine unsteady around the 31-degree
Daytona banking.
Ambrose and crew chief Frankie Kerr worked at the
car set-up and made changes at each pit stop, giving
the Australian a better package heading into the second
half of the race. After a conservative approach in
the first half of the race, Ambrose began to move forward
through the pack to improve his position, working with
Michael Waltrip Racing stablemate David Reutimann in
the draft to move towards the front.
With the race declared due to rain, Ambrose’s
charge was halted early but the two-time V8 Supercar
Champion was still pleased with such a solid start
to the season in his first Sprint Cup race at Daytona
International Speedway.
The 17th place finish eclipses Ambrose’s previous
best Sprint Cup finish on an oval at Phoenix International
Raceway last November, where he finished 18th. His
best Sprint Cup finish remains third place on the Watkins
Glen road course last season.
The three Michael Waltrip Racing-prepared cars were
the three highest finishing Toyotas in today’s
Daytona 500, with two-time race winner Michael Waltrip
finishing seventh and Reutimann 12th.
The 32-year-old Ambrose enters next weekend’s
Auto Club 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California
in 17th place in the Sprint Cup points standings.
What the Team Has to Say:
MARCOS AMBROSE, Driver of the No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota
“I’ll take 17th, it’s a good points
day for us. I could have gone forwards if the race
had gone all the way to the end, but I could well have
gone backwards too.
“It was getting pretty intense out there. We
are satisfied with 17th but I would have liked more.
“It was guaranteed that there was going to be
lots of accidents and the rain threw another factor
into it, because normally the drivers will wait until
20 or 30 laps to go before they get crazy out there.
“But with the rain coming, no one knew when
it would fall, so the last 80 or 90 laps were pretty
fast paced and intense.
“But that’s what this race is all about.
Today was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I’ve
got a bit more to learn I think, just by watching how
committed some of the guys are out there.
“It was a lot of fun, I had a blast and I look
forward to coming back to Daytona next time in July.
“We’ll have to wait for the fifth race
to see how the owner’s points situation shapes
up but this finish is a big step in the right direction
and a good way to start the year.”
Contributed by Brett Murray, BAM Media
Daytona 500 Results:
1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kevin Harvick
3. A.J. Allmendinger
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Elliott Sadler
6. David Ragan
7. Michael Waltrip
8. Tony Stewart
9. Reed Sorenson
10. Kurt Busch
17. Marcos Ambrose
Next Race — The Auto Club 500:
Where: Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California
Time: Sunday, February 22, 2009; 5 p.m.
EST
Network: FOX Television/MRN Radio – Live Coverage
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