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 Marcos Ambrose has finished in a commendable 13th place in the Camping World 300 at California Speedway in Fontana, California today.
Starting from 16th position, Ambrose had a good race in the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion and narrowly missed his fifth top 10 finish for the season on the day when he also celebrated his 31st birthday.
The Australian now rises to eighth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings and remains second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.
In the final stages of the race Ambrose ran in 10th position, battling with David Ragan and Reed Sorenson for the final place in the top 10. Ambrose looked to have the position won when he successfully defended his position from the pair with four laps to go, but with two laps remaining the two found a way past.
Ambrose lost a further place on the final lap to Scott Wimmer, but the 13th place finish was a strong result for the Australian, who ran well on the lead lap for the majority of the race and spent 21 laps in a top 10 position.
The result made Ambrose the second Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender in California today behind Ragan, as well as the second best finishing non-Nextel Cup driver behind Wimmer.
Jeff Burton won today’s Camping World 300 ahead of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
Ambrose has his next race on September 7 at Richmond International Raceway in the Emerson Radio 250, race 28 of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series.
Marcos Ambrose – Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion
“We’re making good progress and for us it’s been a really good night to learn more about the package that we’ve got,” said Ambrose.
“I think we’re just going to keep working at our car and it’s going to get better and better for us.
“We had a good race there at the end and I just couldn’t hang onto 10th place. It would have been nice to be racing for the win [smiles].
“You just race where you can. We had some good pit stops tonight, had some good strategy. Everything was going our way there. We just couldn’t quite hold off at the end.
“We were tight in the centre of the corners all night and it probably got worse as the night went on.
“There were a lot of cautions and some big wrecks tonight but It was OK where I was, because I was at the pointy end there and that’s where we need to be.
“In the spring race here at California I couldn’t get out of my own way. It was horrible and we’ve made huge improvements since then, so we’ve got to look at the positive of how far we’ve come.
“We’re disappointed to finish 13th because we thought we could have run top 10. We were there with four or five laps to go, but just couldn’t hold on.
“I didn’t have enough experience to hold them back at such a big speedway. They just snookered me and got runs on me that I couldn’t stop.
“We’re disappointed because we think we could do better, but, at the same time, I think we’re really proud of how far we’ve come.”
RESULTS: Camping World 300 at California Speedway
Race 27 of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series
1. #29 Jeff Burton 150 laps
2. #5 Kyle Busch
3. #20 Denny Hamlin
4. #48 Jimmie Johnson
5. #21 Clint Bowyer
6. #9 Kasey Kahne
7. #33 Kevin Harvick
8. #26 Jamie McMurray
9. #22 Robby Gordon
10. #6 David Ragan
11. #41 Reed Sorenson
12. #77 Scott Wimmer
13. #59 Marcos Ambrose
RESULTS: Qualifying
1. #20 Denny Hamlin 39.930
2. #9 Kasey Kahne 39.964
3. #5 Kyle Busch 40.008
4. #12 Ryan Newman 40.076
5. #29 Jeff Burton 40.086
6. #16 Greg Biffle 40.230
7. #21 Clint Bowyer 40.234
8. #48 Jimmie Johnson 40.467
9. #10 Brian Vickers 40.501
10. #6 David Raga! n 40.528
16. #59 Marcos Ambrose 40.736
2007 NASCAR Busch Series Points Standings – After Race 27
1. Carl Edwards 3828
2. Kevin Harvick 3174
3. David Reutimann 3171
4. Jason Leffler 3042
5. David Ragan 2975
6. Bobby Hamilton Jr 2804
7. Stephen Leicht 2691
8. Marcos Ambrose 2677
9. Greg Biffle 2652
10. Mike Wallace 2597
MARCOS AMBROSE FAST FACTS
– Marcos Ambrose and the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion team at Wood Brothers/JTG Racing have earned US$759,380 (A$930,498) in prizemoney in 27 NASCAR Busch Series races this season
– Ambrose will drive the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series
– Ambrose finished 16th in his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Daytona International Speedway on 17 February 2007, winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award in what was his first race on the 2.5-mile Daytona superspeedway
– The Australian scored his debut NASCAR Busch Series top 10 finish at his first NASCAR road course event with eighth place at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City on 4 March 2007
– Ambrose picked up his second Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award and second-consecutive top 10 with 10th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on 10 March 2007, also winning the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award and the Checkers/Rally's Double Drive-Thru Challenge Award for the fastest Busch Series pit crew
– Ambrose achieved his best NASCAR Busch Series result to date with sixth place at Dover International Speedway on 2 June 2007, also winning him his fourth Raybestos Rookie of the Race award for the season
– Ambrose was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
– finished 21st in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and third in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, earning US$256,368 in 22 starts in the #20 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia Ford F-150 for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing
– 2006 season highlighted by Budweiser Pole and WIX Lap Leader awards in Kentucky on 8 July 2006, along with third place finishes at Kansas on 1 July 2006 and Nashville 12 August 2006
– Earned nine top 10 qualifying positions and four top 10 finishes in his first season of oval racing of any description
– Ambrose won two consecutive Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series titles in 2003 and 2004 for Ford
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