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Toyota/SaveMart 350 Report
IMPRESSIVE
CUP DEBUT FOR MARCOS AMBROSE AT INFINEON RACEWAY
SONOMA, CA — Little
Debbie® NASCAR driver Marcos
Ambrose turned heads in his Sprint Cup debut at
Infineon Raceway by posting the fastest lap during
final practice on Friday. He was then able to qualify
the No. 21 Fusion on speed for the seventh spot on the
starting grid for Sunday's main event. If that weren't
enough, Marcos followed it up with the fastest lap
during "happy hour" practice on Saturday.
Ambrose ran
as high as second in the Toyota/SaveMart 350 and was
one of the fastest cars on the track throughout the race
around the 1.99-mile (3.20km) road course, but luck was
not with the Australian and his No. 21 Little Debbie® Honey
Buns Ford Fusion.
Ambrose suffered a gearbox failure on lap 84 of the
110-lap race as a result of an impact from behind from
the No. 19 car of Elliott Sadler, ending what was a
sensational performance by Ambrose and the Wood Brothers
Racing team.
The hit came just as Ambrose was engaging first gear
under braking into Turn 7, breaking the gear and putting
a hole in the gearbox casing. With oil spewing from
underneath his Ford, Ambrose’s day was done and
he immediately parked his car in pitlane.
Before the incident Ambrose had been one of the cars
to beat. The driver from Launceston, Tasmania started
from seventh position and made a cautious start, dropping
to ninth.
But once the dust had settled on the start Ambrose
got to work and climbed up the order, up into fourth
by lap 29 when a caution period gave the leaders an
opportunity to pit.
Strategy by some other cars, who pitted just before
the caution flag flew, meant that the field was jumbled
for the restart, with the leaders set back into the
midpack, Ambrose in 17th position.
Undeterred, Ambrose continued to charge and picked
off cars lap after lap and by the halfway point the
31-year-old was back in the top 10.
Once up to sixth position the time came for Ambrose
to make his last pit stop for four tires and fuel under
green flag conditions with 42 laps remaining. A caution
compressed the field immediately after this pit stop,
working in the Australian’s favor as he closed
right up onto the tail of the top three.
At the restart, Ambrose made a run down the inside
of fellow Ford driver Jamie McMurray, who did not make
things easy for Ambrose, squeezing the No. 21 Little
Debbie® Honey Buns Ford Fusion right to the inside
of the circuit entering the hairpin.
Ambrose slipped down the inside of McMurray but in
doing so clipped the rear bumper of Juan Pablo Montoya,
which sent the Colombian into a half spin and elevated
Ambrose into second position.
At the restart with 33 laps remaining, Ambrose was right
behind leader Kyle Busch, only to be jumped by McMurray,
dropping him to third. David Gilliland and Tony Stewart
also took advantage and made their way past, putting
in Ambrose in fifth.
Just as Ambrose consolidated and prepared for another
charge to the front, with ample laps remaining, the
contact from Sadler ended his day.
Busch went on to win the Toyota/SaveMart 350 ahead
of Gilliland and five-time Infineon Raceway winner
Jeff Gordon.
Ambrose will again pull double duty next weekend,
attempting to qualify for his second NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in
the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion, as well as racing
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the No. 59 STP Ford
Fusion for JTG Racing, also at the Loudon, New Hampshire
venue. Contributed
by Brett Murray, BAM North America
What the Team Has to Say:
Marcos Ambrose, Driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie®
Ford:
“It’s just very unfortunate,” said
Ambrose.
“We were racing really good there. The Wood
Brothers and the whole crew gave me a great car. We
were fighting with Elliott [Sadler] pretty hard; he
got into the back of us, spun us out, but that wasn’t
the problem – I was actually just selecting first
gear on the downshift when he hit me.
“It’s just unfortunate, one of those deals.
But, we leave here with our heads held high. We raced
hard and we raced well at the front there, and it was
just a lot of fun.”
Q: YOU MUST BE SATISFIED WITH YOUR DEBUT.
“I couldn’t believe it, you know? Here
I am passing Jeff Gordon and racing with Earnhardt – it’s
just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, dreamed
what it would be like, and it’s certainly like
that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a
shame we couldn’t finish the race.”
Q: SO YOU FEEL YOU RAN WELL FOR YOUR FIRST CUP RACE?
“Yeah, I’m just so excited about it. I
would never have dreamt that we would’ve run
this well. I just wanted to try to get in the race
and just race. We did that, we ran up front, raced
some guys, with Gordon and Earnhardt – just a
blast. It was everything I dreamt it would be like.”
Q: IS THERE A LESSON THAT YOU TAKE OUT OF TODAY?
“It’s hard work. I wish I would’ve
come over 10 years ago. I’m just so lucky to
have this opportunity with Little Debbie and the Wood
Brothers crew. I just want to thank them so much for
giving me the chance. Road racing is my background,
it’s where I feel most comfortable. I’m
not saying every week is going to be like this; this
is definitely a race I’m going to remember for
a long time.”
Q: YOU MADE UP A LOT OF GROUND AFTER YOUR FIRST PIT
STOP. DID YOU GET MORE DOWNFORCE?
“Not really – just had to drive harder.
We were just rolling around there through the first
third of the race. The pressure’s coming on there
the last part of the race, and unfortunately we just
didn’t make it home.
“What happened in the incident when Elliott
got into the back of me, I was just downshifting to
first gear and the impact behind me just must’ve
shoved the gearbox and broke the gears. We actually
finished without first gear – it put a hole in
the gearbox casing. We didn’t want to oil the
track down for everybody else. We leave with our heads
held high.”
Len Wood, Co-Owner of the No. 21 Little
Debbie® Ford:
“That was all Bill that got us 19th. He was able to conserve the fuel,
we were just the ones willing to risk it. For us it worked out and I’m
real glad because it bit a bunch of other guys out here today, and I’m
sure they’re not real happy right now.”
Toyota/SaveMart 350
Results:
1. Kyle Busch
2. David Gilliland
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Casey Mears
6. Juan Pablo Montoya
7. Ryan Newman
8. Matt Kenseth
9. Carl Edwards
10. Tony Stewart
42. Marcos Ambrose (83 of 110 laps)
Next Race — Lenox
Industrial Tools 301:
Where: New Hampshire International Speedway,
Loudon, NH
Date: Sunday, June 29, 2008
Network: TNT; 12:30 p.m. / MRN Radio; 1:15 p.m. (All
Times Eastern)
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