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Pepsi 500
AMBROSE
SHOWS GOOD SPEED IN FIRST 500 MILE RACE IN CALIFORNIA
FONTANA, CA — Marcos
Ambrose finished his first 500-mile race while showing
strong pace on his way to 32nd place in the Pepsi 500
at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Ambrose showed good form in his fifth NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series race at the 2.0-mile speedway, running competitively
with some of the best known names in the sport in the
No. 21 Little Debbie® Ford Fusion of Wood Brothers
Racing.
The Australian started from 40th position and ran
near the tail of the pack in the opening stages of
the race. Ambrose gradually moved forward in the first
part of the race, making changes at each pit stop to
combat a very loose race car.
As the hot California sun set and the track cooled,
the condition of the Little Debbie® Ford moved
from loose to tight, but changes made by Ambrose and
crew chief David Hyder greatly improved the pace of
the car, setting up Ambrose for a strong second half
of the race.
Ambrose, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday on Monday,
was as high as 28th and continuing to move forward
despite a tight race car and on track to earn Wood
Brothers Racing it’s sixth top 30 finish of the
2008 Sprint Cup season.
With 33 laps remaining, Ambrose ran wide and brushed
the wall through Turns 3 and 4.
The contact with the SAFER Barrier brought out a caution
to clear the debree and Ambrose brought the No. 21
to pit lane twice, first to pit for four tires and
fuel and then again to check that the right-hand side
guards were not rubbing on the tires.
The additional stop dropped Ambrose 10 spots to 38th,
but such was the pace of the Little Debbie® machine,
Ambrose moved back through the field, passing the likes
of Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, Mike Skinner and Michael
Waltrip as he jumped back up the order.
While regaining ground on the leaderboard among the
cars also one lap down, Ambrose passed many cars on
the lead lap such as four-time Sprint Cup Champion
Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Ambrose ended the race in 32nd place and one lap down,
pleased with the improvement of the Wood Brothers Ford
over the course of the weekend.
His next Sprint Cup event will come at Dover International
Speedway in the No. 21 Little Debbie® Ford Fusion
of Wood Brothers Racing. Contributed by Brett Murray,
BAM North America
What the Team Has to Say:
Marcos Ambrose, Driver of the No. 21
Little Debbie® Ford:
“I’ve finished my first 500 mile race
and it was definitely a long race out there,” said
Ambrose.
“We raced well out there and that’s all
you can ask for. We improved so much from start to
finish. It began to tighten up quite a lot as the sun
went down but that was expected.
“We came a long way over the course of the three
days here and I think we’ve got a clear direction
moving forward. There were some changes and decisions
we made that really got it going out there and I’m
pleased for the entire Wood Brothers team.
“I was out there passing guys like Jeff Gordon,
Clint Bowyer, those sort of Chase drivers in the second
half of the race. We were a lap down in the second
half of the race but our car speed really gave me confidence.
“I had a touch with the wall through (Turns)
Three and Four there towards the end but it wasn’t
too bad. It dropped us back down the order and in the
end if probably cost us a bunch of positions. But the
pace was there and we past a lot of cars back and that’s
pleasing.
“It’s great to finish one of these Cup
deals on this sort of big, fast track. The confidence
I gained and the things we learned are really invaluable
moving forward.”
Pepsi 500
Results:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Greg Biffle
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Carl Edwards
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kasey Kahne
9. David Reutimann
10. Clint Bowyer
32. Marcos Ambrose
Next Race — Chevy
Rock & Roll 400:
Where: Richmond International Raceway, Richmond,
VA
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008; 7:00 p.m.
EST
Network: ESPN, 7 p.m. / MRN Radio,
7:15 p.m.
(All Times Eastern)
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