press release courtesy of marcosambrose.com

Marcos Ambrose is confident his team made big inroads on its way to 14th place in the Carquest 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina today.

The Australian driver showed strong pace and while running a conservative strategy to ensure he came home with a solid haul of points towards his 2008 championship campaign, Ambrose’s pace was clear and he ran well on the leap lap all day at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Ambrose jumped one spot in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings after today’s result, now sitting 14th in the championship after 13 of 35 races.

Ambrose qualified 19th in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion, which ran a special livery this weekend in support of Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, in conjunction with Kingsford and Rite-Aid.

Ambrose ran a car livery and helmet paintjob designed by a patient of Levine Children’s Hospital. The helmet will now be auctioned off by JTG Racing, with all proceeds benefiting Levine Children’s Hospital.

During the month of April, Kingsford donated $0.25 to Children’s Miracle Network for every purchase of Kingsford, Match Light or Kingsford Lighter Fluid products at any Rite Aid store in the United States.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion

It was a really good night for us,� said Ambrose.

We’ve made big inroads here on the one-and-a-half-mile program and we had a really conservative race.

“It was good, really good. I was really proud of my guys and it shows that we’re making progress.

“We’re not just talking the talk, we’re actually starting to walk the walk a little bit. We’re much more competitive and we were racy all night.

“We just had a really conservative deal – major conservative. We didn’t really have a strategy apart from just being safe.

“We just wanted to keep working on our car, finish the race intact and then go from there.�

Marcos Ambrose has claimed his second top 10 finish of the 2008 season and his first on an oval with a hard fought 10th place in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina today.

Ambrose toughed it out in a demanding race at the track known as ‘Too Tough To Tame’, coming home strong in the first race on Darlington’s new surface.

Ambrose started from 20th position in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion and maintained track position early. The Australian ran a long first stint and was one of the last cars to pit, resulting in Ambrose leading a lap on lap 64.

Seconds before Ambrose was to make his first pit stop the caution flag came out, a stroke of luck for Ambrose that allowed him to pit under yellow.

Ambrose was in 15th position at the restart and maintained a top 20 position for the rest of the race, despite sustaining repairs at each of his pit stops to continue to repair slight right side damage, a common occurrence at Darlington.

After a brief red flag stoppage, Ambrose was in 13th position at the restart with 13 laps remaining. A crash at the restart triggered by Mark Martin’s car running out of fuel caused carnage but Ambrose drove well to avoid damage and survive the wreck.

Ambrose came home strong and was setting some of his fastest laps of the race in the last part of the event, finishing in 10th in a ‘green-white-checker’ finish right behind ninth placed Jason Leffer.

Tony Stewart won today’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway ahead of fellow Sprint Cup drivers Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann.

Ambrose will participate in the official NASCAR Nationwide Series test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 12-13 before a rare off-weekend.

The Australian’s next race will also be at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, with the Carquest Auto Parts 300 on May 24.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We got a bit of damage early but it was a night when plenty of people got a lot more damage than we did,� said Ambrose.

“We fought the car all night and kept making small repairs at our stops and it was at it’s best towards the end of the race.

“This track is so tough that it’s really about fighting the conditions rather than the competitors. That’s what we did for a lot of the race tonight.

“We deserved to finish where we did tonight. We had a really good run in the Kingsford car and we were at the front when it matters in the last part of the race.

“This is a great result for our team and I’m looking forward to testing at Charlotte this week for the two day test there and then running well there for our next race in two weeks time.

“We’ve had a lot of bad luck this year so it was good to have some good luck go our way. That’s what happens in this game, some times things go your way and other times they keep going against you. So you’ve just got to keep fighting and be up there in the front when things go your way.�

Marcos Ambrose has ensured that he finished in a solid position and continued to add to his 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series points tally with 25th place on a trying day in the Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia today.

Ambrose qualified in 17th position earlier in the day in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion but unfortunately the Australian was never able to get an effective set-up and did not have the pace he expected in today’s 250-lap race.

Ambrose received the Lucky Dog when a caution was called on lap 67, vaulting him back onto the lead lap just one lap after he had been lapped by leader Carl Edwards.

The Kingsford driver ran in 22nd position for much of the race as he tried his best despite his car’s handling, set-up changes at pit stops doing little to improve Ambrose’s pace.

In the end Ambrose came home in 25th place, importantly staying out of trouble as many others crashed out to score all-important championship points to be 16th in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

Ambrose will be back in action next week at one of his favourite venues for the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

Hometown hero Denny Hamlin won today’s Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond International Raceway ahead of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“It was just a tough night for the Kingsford team but we brought it home and got some more points on the board,� said Ambrose.

“We were a little loose into the corners when we came off the truck and it just sort of hurt us here for the race.

“I thought we were going to be better than that, so I’m a little disappointed. We just didn’t have the pace we would have liked and that meant we couldn’t move forward.

“I’m looking forward to Darlington next weekend. I loved running there last year and with the new surface this year it should be even faster.�

Marcos Ambrose has had a potentially strong finish evaporate in a second after the Australian was caught up in a massive accident in the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama today.

With 47 laps remaining Ambrose was running in 17th position in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion. Ambrose was running in the main pack and on the lead lap while conserving his Ford for the finish.

“There’s nothing you can do in that situation and sometimes these things happen,� said Ambrose.

“We were running to plan, just hanging out there in the lead pack and getting ready to make a run at the front.

“I took the conservative approach like a lot of others. It was all running pretty smoothly but once the wreck started there was no stopping it.

“We got it back out there and moved up a little, salvaging something out of nothing I guess. I’ve definitely got the thank the crew for that because we are trying to score all the points we can get.

“There’s nothing you can do about it. We’ll just put this behind us and look to run well at Richmond next week. We’re certainly not the only ones that got caught up in it – Talladega looked like a parking lot after the dust settled!�

Marcos Ambrose has driven the race of his life to pass more cars than any other driver on his way to second place in the Corona Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico City today.

Ambrose achieved his best ever NASCAR finish today in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion in the drive of the day after coming through the field twice throughout the race.

The Australian qualified fourth for the 80-lap race but was forced to start from the rear of the field. Ambrose suffered from clutch problems in practice and opted to change the clutch for the race to ensure he finished the race, an adjustment that meant he started the race in 40th position, as cars are not to be worked on between qualifying and the start of the race.

Ambrose showed why he is one of the most formidable road course drivers in NASCAR by driving from the rear up into 23rd position at the start before the first caution of the day came out on lap three.

Ambrose was inside the top 20 when the first round of pit stops occurred, however this delivered a further setback for Ambrose. NASCAR ruled that members of Ambrose’s JTG Racing pit crew had left the pit wall and entered pit lane too early and the 31-year-old was forced to complete a drive through penalty under green flag conditions, again sending him to the rear.

The Kingsford driver then set about regaining lost ground and again coming through the field. Ambrose made good progress and had a steady middle part of the race, making his final pit stop with 33 laps remaining for four new tires and fuel.

At a race restart with 26 laps remaining Ambrose made contact with Boris Said entering the first corner, causing the Kingsford car to run across the grass but maintain eighth position.

The ensuing caution saw Ambrose gain a position at the restart entering the first corner and continue to pick off cars one by one as the laps wore down. Ambrose passed Patrick Carpentier in the Esses to gain third position with 13 laps remaining, then

moved up to second with a move past Scott Pruett at the end of the long front straight entering the first corner with six laps to go.

Ambrose began the chase down leader Kyle Busch and was edging closer to Busch with every lap but in the end time ran out and the driver from Launceston, Australia finished second, within a second of Busch, remarkable after all the adversity thrown his way throughout the tough 80-lap event.

The finish is Ambrose’s best NASCAR result, his previous best finish was third in two events in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas and Nashville. Ambrose’s previous best finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series was fourth at Memphis late last year.

This was Ambrose’s second top 10 finish in Mexico from two starts at the twisting road course. Today’s result was Ambrose’s first top 10 result this season.

After the race Ambrose said that he thought he could have taken the lead from Busch within two laps, but that he was pleased to have taken second on a day where he and his #59 Kingsford team had to overcome challenge after challenge.

Ambrose rises to 13th in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings, a jump of four positions, injecting a boost into Ambrose’s 2008 championship campaign.

MARCOS AMBROSE PRESS CONFERENCE:

�We’re really pleased. I feel like we had been battling all day. We had an overheating motor there at the end. We had to start at the back with a clutch problem and that was still there in the race and we had to watch that.

“Then we had to come from the back again because we miscalculated the fuel and we had an ignition stall. Then we had a penalty on pit lane and had to come from the back again. It had just been a day of fighting.

“I really want to first apologise to Boris on one of those restarts. I got into him and spun him out and ended his day. I just want to answer those questions now before they come up. I feel bad for him but our day has been fantastic and I’m really proud of my Kingsford guys.

“We fought all day and never gave up. I think if we had another two laps we would have had something for Kyle because he was really starting to go off. I’m proud of my finish. This is my best finish since I’ve been in NASCAR. I’ve got to be pleased.�

Q: DID YOU MAKE A CONSCIENCE DECISION TODAY TO DRIVE LIKE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL?

“Yeah, in the whole, we’ve had a tough year. We really wanted to have a strong day today. You’re not going to go and pass 43 cars 15 times like we did today without being aggressive. And you’ve got to be in this racing to try and come through. It was really tough racing. It’s some of the hardest racing I’ve ever done there that last 20 laps. Then you’ve got Carl [Edwards] and Kyle [Busch] and Scott [Pruett], they’re the best in the business.

“We’re hanging on the best we can and trying to race. It’s pretty awesome. I’ll probably look back at this race as probably one of my best races in just having to fight all day. Everything was against us, but we fought all day and came through.�

Q: I KNOW YOU APOLOGISED BUT BORIS SEEMED PRETTY INTENT ON GETTING REVENGE SOME DAY AND HE DID TALK TO YOUR CREW CHIEF.

“There’s no point in getting in the crew chief’s face because he’s not driving the car. I’m going to ring him on Monday and hopefully sleep will help him just think through things a little bit more. I value Boris’ friendship and he is a fantastic racer.

“I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t know what happened, to be honest with you. I had pretty square contact and all of a sudden, he’s up speed and off to the left. I caught his rear bumper bar in mine. I don’t know what happened, it wasn’t intentional.

“Racing happens. Look at the deal last year with Robby Gordon. Bad stuff happens out there and it’s unfortunate. I’ll apologise to him to his face. I’ll apologize to him today in front of the media. I can’t take it back. I wish I didn’t do it. I don’t know how it happened and that’s all I can really say.

“If he wants to come talk to me about it, I’d like to sit down and just find some common ground. It’s just unfortunate that that stuff happens but that’s what racing is all about. That’s what fans turn out for.�

Q: IS THIS FINISH SOMETHING YOU CAN CARRY ON?

“I hope so. It’s been a good day for us. I’m really proud of the Kingsford guys. Another two laps, I think we would have had the win. I was really closing on Kyle. I was either going to spin out or win because I was going to give it everything I had.

“If I could have gotten within shooting distance, I was going to shoot and try to make a run at him. I’m just really proud of my guys. We’re fighting in this championship. We’re fighting to stay alive. I feel like I’m a part of NASCAR. I just really, desperately want to do well. Today we did well and we’ve just got to keep carrying it on. Who knows what is going to happen in the future, but hopefully this will be a catalyst for better things.�

AMBROSE ON THE INCIDENT WITH BORIS SAID:

“If I could take it back, I would,� said Ambrose.

“I didn’t mean to get into Boris; I really like him. He’s a great racer and I’ve idolised him in the past and I still do. If I could wind the clock back, I would. It’s just hard racing up there. He checked up in the middle of the corner. I was getting something from behind and I wanted to defend my position. Our bumper bars just hooked and it just turned him around. It was just the craziest thing I’ve seen. I feel bad for him. I can’t take it back.

“We’re proud of our day. We’ve driven well and we’ve got a team behind us. We’re back in the points and we’re having a great day.�

Marcos Ambrose has enjoyed a solid run in the Bashas Supermarkets 200 with 17th place at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona today.

Ambrose qualified in 11th position in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion and maintained a position in the top 15 in the early stages of the race.

The Australian dropped out of the top 20 mid-race but improved the pace of his car entering the final stages, moving up to be one of the first cars running one lap down by the end of the race.

After 202 laps at the challenging 1.0-mile speedway Ambrose finished as the second car one lap down, collecting a solid haul of points to now sit 17th in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

Kyle Busch won today’s Bashas Supermarkets 200 ahead of Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.

Ambrose returns to road course racing next weekend with the Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We had a reasonable day out there and brought it home,� said Ambrose.

“I was waiting for the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap, because I really thought we could have had something for a lot of them towards the end to push us up the order.

“In the end we were trapped a lap down but we finished and added to the points.

“It wasn’t a bad day for the Kingsford team and we will look to step it up a notch over the next few races.�

Marcos Ambrose has had a steady run in the O’Reilly 300 to net 18th place at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas today.

Ambrose collected his third top 20 finish from the past four races in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion at the fast 1.5-mile speedway.

The finish sees the Australian maintain 16th in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series standings after seven of 35 races.

Today’s race was largely uneventful for Ambrose and on the whole, the race had fewer caution periods than is usually the case.

This meant that Ambrose, who had a loose (oversteer) race car for much of the 200-lap race, only had minimal opportunities to make set-up chances at pit stops.

Nevertheless, 18th is a solid result for Ambrose as he aims to reacquaint himself with new crew chief Gary Cogswell and the consistent run today will have no doubt helped that cause.

Only six of the top 20 drivers in today’s race were Nationwide Series only drivers, with nine of the top 10 finishers at Texas all full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.

Kyle Busch won today’s O’Reilly 300 ahead of Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.

Ambrose and JTG Racing will be back in action next weekend for the Bashas Supermarkets 300 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 11.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We finished the race and learned some more, which was important this weekend as we had a new crew chief,� said Ambrose.

“We’re pretty pleased with that. It wasn’t stellar, and we were loose in all day, but with our direction I’m really excited and feel confident. The racing just got away today.

“There weren’t many cautions today so we didn’t have much opportunity to make adjustments at the stops. I mean, we’re brand-new, and we’ve got a brand-new set-up on the car, and we’re really happy how things progressed.

“We had speed at certain times of the race. We just were slow at the wrong times when it had long green runs. But, I’m very excited, and I think we’re building something pretty good here.�

Marcos Ambrose has moved up to 16th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings after finishing 23rd in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in Tennessee today.

Ambrose qualified 15th in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion at the 1.33-mile speedway and finished three laps down in the midfield.

The Australian’s car was very ‘tight’ (understeer) throughout the race, making it a difficult day. Ambrose and his crew worked hard at getting a more balanced set-up throughout the race, but changes were not able to give the car a better set-up.

With an unusually low number of cautions in today’s race, opportunities for pit stops to tune the car were few, making it a tough day for Ambrose.

Scott Wimmer won today’s Pepsi ahead of series leader Clint Bowyer and defending series champion Carl Edwards.

Ambrose and the JTG Racing team will enjoy a rare weekend off next weekend, before the NASCAR Nationwide Series gets back underway on April 5 with the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We’ve got two weeks now to have a think about things and make some progress,� said Ambrose.

“Today was not a great day for our team but the potential is certainly there. We’ve just got to put our heads down and work hard on finding more speed.

“We had a really, really tight race car and we just couldn’t get it good enough.

“The boys are all working hard. I’m very confident that we will be back up there very soon.�

Courtesy of marcosambrose.com

Marcos Ambrose has jumped into the top 20 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings with 19th in a rain-shortened Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee today.

The finish is the best for Ambrose in his four starts at the tough half-mile race track on a day where the Australian ran with the lead pack and showed strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion.

The Australian started from 18th in today’s event after Friday’s two practice sessions were cancelled due to rain. Qualifying this morning was replaced with a 90-minute practice session, with the starting order set by 2007 Owner’s Points for the third time this season.

Ambrose was 22nd in practice this morning, boding well for this afternoon’s race.

Ambrose ran strong at the start of the 300-lap event at the intimidating track, running well and progressing into the top 10 approaching the 100-lap mark.

Soon after, Mike Bliss checked up in front of Ambrose and the 31-year-old clipped Bliss, sustaining slight damage to the front of the Kingsford car. The damage was taped up during the second series of pit stops for the day.

After the halfway point Ambrose was making good progress and up to 19th position as the leading duo of Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne put the Australian one lap down. A few laps later rain began to fall on Bristol Motor Speedway and the race was red flagged on lap 171.

Bowyer was declared the winner ahead of Kahne and David Reutimann, as the rain stoppage came after the halfway point in the 300-lap race.

Ambrose will be back in action next weekend on March 22 in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway, race six in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series.

WHAT HE HAD TO SAY …

“I’m pleased because I made it past lap 100 without tearing the fenders off,� said Ambrose.

“I’ve tried hard here in the past, but I haven’t done a very good job of it. We’re really excited about how we went today.

“We wanted this race to restart because we feel like we’ve got something for them. I felt really comfortable in the car today and I think our team is really moving forward.

“We’re being aggressive and racy out there and that’s what you’ve got to do at Bristol. You’ve got to grab it by the teeth and not let go.

“I’m way more in control at Bristol now than one year ago. I feel like I’ve got some rhythm here and I’m able to absorb everything that’s going on in some chronological order at least in my head to not get too spun out, and that’s really hard to do here because everything is happening so fast.

“You’ve got to really know what’s important and what’s not. You’ve got to be able to run a really loose race car and ignore it. That’s the way it works.�

Marcos Ambrose has bounced back from a run of early season bad luck to post a strong 11th place finish in the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia today.

Ambrose ran well all day in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, posting his best result for the season so far and his best finish in Atlanta in today’s 198-lap race.

The result lifts Ambrose up five spots in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series into 23rd position, with in 100 points of the top 10 after four of 35 races this season.

Ambrose started from 20th position for today’s race after qualifying was cancelled earlier this morning due to rain and light snowfall. Once the conditions cleared the race began, with the starting order set by 2007 Owner’s Points.

The Australian ran solidly in the first half of the race, with one long run mid-race seeing Ambrose jump up the order into the top 15. Ambrose was as high as third as he waited longer than most to pit, finally stopping for tyres and fuel on lap 104.

Ambrose was running in 14th position when a caution was called after leader Kyle Busch crashed with 20 laps to go. As the cars on the lead lap pitted for fuel and tyres, Ambrose and fellow Ford driver David Ragan both pitted for fuel only. The move meant that Ragan and Ambrose restarted first and second respectively.

With old tyres on their Ford Fusions the two were soon passed at the restart but for Ambrose the calculated gamble paid off, as he maintained a top 10 position for a considerable time and eventually greeted the flag in 11th.

Fellow Ford driver Matt Kenseth won today’s race ahead of 2006 series champion Kevin Harvick and today’s polesitter Jeff Burton.

Ambrose and the NASCAR Nationwide Series field will brave the wild banking of the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway next weekend in the Sharpie Mini 300.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We did what we needed to do today,� said Ambrose.

“We had a competitive day out there and got the job done.

“Our car wasn’t the best piece out there today but we managed to do the best we could and come away with a really important result for us.

“This gets us back on track and we can go into Bristol next week with some more confidence and the right frame of mind, not having to worry too much about the owner’s points situation.

“Atlanta is one of the tougher places we race so this result is great.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my guys after today. They did a great job for me all weekend and at the stops during the race.

“A big part of this result has to go to Wally (Walter Giles, crew chief). He had some great strategy calls today from the pit stand and did a great job. We are working very well together and let’s hope that we can start to step it up after this result.�

Marcos Ambrose – Q&A

Q: THIS MUST BE A GREAT RESULT TO GET YOUR TEAM BACK ON TRACK? MA: Well, were out of the bad points (Top 30 Owner’s Points) deal. Today was about walking into this race where we are secure in the points going into Bristol because it it's a bit of a lottery in Bristol.

Now we're fairly safe in points and we'll be going there knowing after the fifth race were in the Top 30 in owner points, which means a lot when you get rainouts and such.

For us, it was a conservative race the whole day. We were just trying to keep out of trouble. There was a lot of give out there from us just to make sure we finished.

Q: PIT STRATEGY SEEMED IMPORTANT TODAY.

MA: Yeah, we got lucky a couple of times. We ran out of tyres and we couldn't stop where we wanted to and we did stop. We had the perfect strategy, really for that car. I don't think we could have done any better with that car today.

Marcos Ambrose has had a potential top 10 result slip through his fingers on a luckless day for the Australian in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada today.

Marcos Ambrose has had a potential top 10 result slip through his fingers on a luckless day for the Australian in the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada today.

Ambrose had strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, but an incident in the second half of the race knocked him out of the event and he was classified in 28th place.

Ambrose was seventh fastest in qualifying and started from fifth place as third fastest qualifier Kyle Busch crashed his car on his second qualifying lap and was forced to start in his back-up car from the rear.

The 31-year-old ran as high as fourth in the opening stages of the race and after the first round of pit stops Ambrose sat just outside the top 10, where he ran during the middle stages of the race.

On lap 131 Ambrose went to pass the lapped car of Johnny Borneman while running in 18th position, but the 83 car did not see Ambrose and turned down on him entering turn one.

The two cars touched and Ambrose spun but did a commendable job in managing to avoid hitting the wall. However, the huge amount of lock that Ambrose put into the steering to keep the car from hitting the wall resulted in the steering arm knocking the oil pump belt off of an engine pulley.

Ambrose pitted to fit new tyres immediately after the spin but when the engine problems were realised his race was over. The result scored Ambrose enough points to elevate him up one spot in the driver’s standings to 27th overall.

Mark Martin won today’s race to give JR Motorsports it’s first NASCAR victory, ahead of Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.

The next race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion will be the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

“We got pinched down there while I was trying to lap some backmarkers,� said Ambrose.

“I saved it, but when I turned full hard right, the steering arm got into the pulley and knocked the oil pump belt off.

“I shouldn’t have got myself in a bad spot anyway and then this just compounds it.

“We had a long day. We were looking good there for a while, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“We had a car that was capable of running in the top 10 today but again we just had no luck. All we can do now is look to Atlanta and try our best there for a good result.� Ambrose had strong car speed in the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion, but an incident in the second half of the race knocked him out of the event and he was classified in 28th place.

Ambrose was seventh fastest in qualifying and started from fifth place as third fastest qualifier Kyle Busch crashed his car on his second qualifying lap and was forced to start in his back-up car from the rear.

The 31-year-old ran as high as fourth in the opening stages of the race and after the first round of pit stops Ambrose sat just outside the top 10, where he ran during the middle stages of the race.

On lap 131 Ambrose went to pass the lapped car of Johnny Borneman while running in 18th position, but the 83 car did not see Ambrose and turned down on him entering turn one.

The two cars touched and Ambrose spun but did a commendable job in managing to avoid hitting the wall. However, the huge amount of lock that Ambrose put into the steering to keep the car from hitting the wall resulted in the steering arm knocking the oil pump belt off of an engine pulley.

Ambrose pitted to fit new tyres immediately after the spin but when the engine problems were realised his race was over. The result scored Ambrose enough points to elevate him up one spot in the driver’s standings to 27th overall.

Mark Martin won today’s race to give JR Motorsports it’s first NASCAR victory, ahead of Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.

The next race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion will be the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

Marcos Ambrose has toughed it out on a trying day to finish 22nd in the Stater Bros 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California today.

Ambrose was never able to get the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion handling well around the 2.0-mile oval but pressed on to record an all important finish and add 97 points to his championship tally.

The Australian driver started the race, which was delayed for two-straight days due to rain, from 18th position after the starting order was set by 2007 owner’s points due to qualifying also being rained out.

In the first half of the race Ambrose went down one lap but soon regained his position on the lead lap when he was the ‘Lucky Dog’ – the first driver one lap down – during a caution period.

From there Ambrose tried his best to tune his race car but the 31-year-old was unable to gain any significant improvements in the handling and he pushed on to finish in 22nd position out of 42 starters. Ambrose allowed race leader Tony Stewart passed on the penultimate lap to give Stewart a clear run to the finish and make Ambrose the first car to finish the race one lap down.

The finish lifted Ambrose nine spots in the points standings to 29th place after two events, with prizemoney of US$79,921 (A$86,120) so far this season.

Stewart won his second-consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series race today at Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) ahead of Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Ambrose will be back in action in four days time when practice begins for the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

"We had a testing day,� said Ambrose.

“We didn't have the practice that we would have liked, but that's the same with everybody. We missed a day and just struggled and struggled.

“We finished and the car is in one piece. It wasn't a great day for us, but we'll take it.

“Now we have a finish on the board and a few more points to our name. This is not the kind of result that we were looking for but I am sure we will do better at Las Vegas in a few days time.�