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LifeLock 400 Report
MARCOS
FIGHTS TO THE FINISH AT MICHIGAN
BROOKLYN, MI — Marcos
Ambrose battled an ill-handling car at Michigan International
Speedway.
“We were just loose, loose, loose,” Ambrose
said. “(Crew Chief) Frankie (Kerr) and the guys
made a lot of changes, but the car didn’t respond
the way we needed it to. We’ll lick our wounds
and go on to Sonoma where we know we’ll have
a great (car). We just didn’t know what to
expect this weekend.”
Qualifying took place on Friday and Ambrose qualified
33rd. Two days later when the NASCAR official waved
the green flag, it didn’t take long for Ambrose
to key up the radio and tell crew chief Frank Kerr
he was loose off and the left front of the car was
hitting too hard. His teammates, Michael Waltrip and
David Reutimann, were both extremely loose too.
At Lap 35, the JTG Daugherty team was in 36th position
and Ambrose thought the car was starting to come around.
During a green-flag stop four laps later, Kerr called
for a chassis adjustment, four tires and fuel. As Ambrose
went a lap down to leader Jimmie Johnson, his car continued
to be extremely loose.
Under caution at Lap 75, Kerr and the JTG Daugherty
Racing team threw everything they had at the No. 47.
They changed four tires, went down on the track bar,
made an air pressure adjustment, and pulled a half
rubber out of the left rear.
“The Little Debbie® backed Toyota was loose
and I couldn’t get in with it,” Ambrose
said. “It was zinging off the right rear.”
Ambrose restarted 36th on Lap 77 with Jimmie Johnson
leading the field.
“After they made the changes, it was so loose
I couldn’t drive it,” Ambrose said. “It
had no grip whatsoever. I felt like it was about to
wreck.”
On Lap 113, Ambrose was back on pit road for more adjustments.
He returned to the track in 34th-place.
“It was crazy loose,” Ambrose said. “They
made more changes, put on four tires and pulled a rubber
out of the right rear.”
A caution at Lap 120 allowed the JTG Daugherty Racing
crew to work on the car again.
“They put more rubbers in the right rear and
pulled a rubber out of the left rear,” Ambrose
said.
Ambrose took the green flag in 34th-place.
“We didn’t have any rear grip,” Ambrose
said.
With 32 laps remaining, the No. 47 Little Debbie® backed
pit crew took another stab at the car.
“It was just loose again and needed forward bite,” Ambrose
said.
Ambrose completed 198 of 200 laps to finish 31st at
Michigan International Speedway. Contributed
by Chip Warren, JTG Daugherty Racing
LifeLock 400
Results:
1. Mark Martin
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Denny Hamiln
4. Carl Edwards
5. Greg Biffle
6. Juan Pablo Montoya
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kurt Busch
9. Brian Vickers
10. Clint Bowyer
31. Marcos Ambrose
Next Race — Toyota/Save
Mart 350:
Where: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
Date: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Network & Time: TNT, 4:30 P.M. / PRN Radio,
4 P.M.
All Times Eastern
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Previous Reports:
2/17 Daytona
2/22 Fontana
3/1 Las
Vegas
3/8 Atlanta
3/22 Bristol
3/29 Martinsville
4/5 Texas
4/18 Phoenix
4/26 Talladega
5/2 Richmond
5/9 Darlington
5/16 All-Star
Race
5/24 Charlotte
5/31 Dover
6/7 Pocono
6/14 Michigan
6/21 Sonoma
6/28 New Hampshire
7/4 Daytona
7/11 Chicago
7/26 Indianapolis
8/3 Pocono
8/10 Watkins Glen
8/16 Michigan
8/22 Bristol
9/6 Atlanta
9/12 Richmond
9/20 New Hampshire
9/27 Dover
10/4 Kansas
10/11 Fontana
10/17 Charlotte
10/25 Martinsville
11/1 Talladega
11/8 Texas
11/15 Phoenix
2009 Point Standings:
1. Jimmie Johnson — 6492
2. Mark Martin — 6384
3. Jeff Gordon — 6323
4. Kurt Busch — 6281
5. Tony Stewart — 6207
6. Juan Montoya — 6203
7. Greg Biffle — 6171
8. Denny Hamlin — 6140
9. Ryan Newman — 6081
10. Kasey Kahne — 6016
11. Carl Edwards — 5972
12. Brian Vickers — 5826
18. M. Ambrose — 3767
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