Subway Fresh Fit 500 Report

AMBROSE CHALKS UP THIRD TOP 15 FINISH IN HIS FIRST FULL SPRINT CUP SEASON

PHOENIX, AZ — On Saturday night, Marcos Ambrose was able to climb from a starting position of 29th to finish 14th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500. It was his third top 15 finish and fifth top 20 finish in eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts this season. With this finish, Ambrose moved up two positions to 26th point standings. He is currently 169 points out of the coveted top 12.

At the start of the race on Saturday, the No. 47 was loose in and off and tight in the middle. Under the first caution of the race, the JTG Daugherty Racing team took their first stab at adjusting the problem on Lap 55. They changed four tires and pulled a quarter sprint rubber out of the left rear.

“The Little Debbie backed Camry was loose in, pushing the nose, had no forward bite and the left front was real high,” Ambrose said. “I couldn’t keep the left front down.”

Ambrose restarted in 20th-place on Lap 59. The pit crew had another opportunity to improve handling at Lap 102. They worked on the car for a second time under caution.

“It had no forward bite and was chattering the right front and loose off,” Ambrose said.

The Australian driver went back to work at Lap 108 in 23rd place and returned to the top 20 eight laps later. After more adjustments on Lap 139 under caution, Ambrose was still battling being loose in and loose off and tight in the middle. He was back on pit road on Lap 152 under caution. The team changed two tires and inserted a spring rubber in the right rear to try to tighten up the car on entry and exit. They were still trying to get the left corner down.

The field took the green again on Lap 155 and Ambrose was occupying 24th place. The frontrunners pitted under the next caution at Lap 167, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ambrose stayed out on the track. The call to stay out by crew chief Frank Kerr positioned Ambrose in second place.

For the next eight laps, Ambrose stayed in second place. On Lap 177, Kyle Busch was on the inside of his car, but Ambrose was able to hold on to the spot for another lap. As Busch finally passed Ambrose, he brought four-time Cup champion and points leader Jeff Gordon along with him. Ambrose was then fourth on Lap 179 and Tony Stewart (who finished second) was in his mirror with fresher tires.

Finally, on Lap 183 Stewart made the pass. With older tires Ambrose slid out of the top five, and his car was loose off and tight in the middle. Even though Marcos fell back to eighth ten laps later, he was running lap times the as same as Earnhardt Jr., who maintained the lead.

Crew Chief Kerr called Ambrose to pit road under green at Lap 231 for four tires and a chassis adjustment. Once Ambrose radioed to his team that the car had lost grip. Without grip, Ambrose fought to stay inside the top 10. On Lap 273, Martin Truex Jr. battled Ambrose for tenth and made the pass.

At Lap 299, Kerr communicated to Ambrose that they did not have enough fuel to go to the end. “We were going to have to splash and go,” Kerr said.

Ambrose was running 15th and it appeared that he was going to have to pit under green and give up his track position in the next lap or two. Luckily for the JTG Daugherty Racing team, the yellow flag waved at Lap 300 for an accident involving Casey Mears and Earnhardt Jr. The team came in for fuel and also changed two tires and made a wedge adjustment on theNo. 47 Camry.

The field restarted on Lap 306, and during the next six laps Ambrose maintained his top 15 run and pushed at the very end to finish 14th.

“It felt good running in the top 10 in only my second time at Phoenix in a Cup car, and we were able to pick up a couple spots in the points standings,” Ambrose said. “The points are still pretty close and we’re not far outside the top 12. That feels pretty good for us.” Contributed by Chip Warren, JTG Daugherty Racing

Subway Fresh Fit 500 Results:
1. Mark Martin
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kurt Busch
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Greg Biffle
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Martin Truex, Jr.
8. David Reutimann
9. Sam Hornish, Jr.
10. Carl Edwards
14. Marcos Ambrose

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