ParcFerme.Com
World Motorsport News.
| Site Partners |
|---|
|
www.race-connect.com Friendly but competitve online Sim Racing comunity, racing everything from Touring Cars to GT's Formula Ford to F1. |
|
|
| Ambrose takes form, car and team confidece into Pheonix |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, 07 November 2007 | |
|
Marcos Ambrose will have a proven performer and great short track race
car underneath him in the Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix International
Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona this weekend.
Ambrose will drive the same car that he drove to his debut NASCAR Busch Series pole position and fourth place finish in Memphis two weeks ago. That performance was the best for the Australian in his rookie season in the NASCAR Busch Series. With two races remaining in this year’s Busch Series schedule, Ambrose is looking  to finish the season on a positive note in the Aussie
Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion. Phoenix, and the
final race in Florida the following week, will therefore be important
races for Ambrose and the #59 crew from Wood Brothers/JTG Racing.
Phoenix is a challenging short track, offering a unique challenge on the 35-race NASCAR Busch Series schedule. The track offers vastly different corners at each end of the 1.0-mile racetrack, making set-up a tough challenge for the 200-lap event. Ambrose never had the opportunity to aim for a sixth top 10 for the season in Texas last weekend when contact damaged his car in the early laps. Unable to show their true speed in Texas, Ambrose and Wood Brothers/JTG Racing are confident that using the car Ambrose drove with success in Memphis is going to give them the best possible chance at Phoenix. At Phoenix earlier this year Ambrose qualified in 10th position before going on to take 22nd position at the finish, while he was again in the top 10 in qualifying last season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, when Ambrose qualified seventh and finished 15th. Ambrose currently sits ninth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings and is only 31 points behind eighth-placed Greg Biffle, with seventh placed Stephen Leicht only 112 points ahead of Ambrose. Marcos Ambrose – Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion “I think we’ve definitely got everything in place to get the job done in Phoenix,” said  Ambrose.
“This last part of the year has been great at Wood Brothers/JTG Racing. We’ve been working hard all year and that work is starting to pay off. I feel confident that we have things in place and the direction is good. “At Phoenix we will take the car we ran at Memphis. We ran really well there to get the pole and get our first top five on the board, it will be good to see how we run this weekend. “Texas was a tough race because once we sustained that damage in the first few laps we just had to hang on and do our best. It certainly gave me confidence to see how hard all our guys worked to make sure the car kept going and we got to the finish. “Phoenix is a great track, one that I think almost everyone looks forward to because it’s a tough track and a different sort of challenge. We are all keen to have a strong finish to the year so this race in Phoenix and the final race in Homestead will be important for us.” Q&A with Marcos Ambrose Q: GOING BACK TO PHOENIX NEXT WEEK. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE YOUR FIRST VISIT THERE. MA: “We qualified well there, but we slipped back in the race. I feel like our short-track program has come a long way since then. I’m looking forward to another one. I want to finish this year strong and Phoenix hopefully will lift us for next season. We’re really focused on next year from here on out, just trying to finish strong so we’ve got confidence and direction for next year’s cars and next year’s program. I like Phoenix; it’s a great race track and a great place.” Q: PHOENIX IS A UNIQUE RACE TRACK. MA: “It is. It’s a race track and they all have their little quirks. It’s a hard place to drive, turn one is very tight and banked and turn four is very fast and flat, so it’s hard to get a perfect setup on the car. But you never get a perfect setup, but we’re really excited about it and will have a shot at it and just want to build towards the future.” Q: YOU’VE HAD A COUPLE OF RACES WITH COOLER WEATHER, AND THE NEXT TWO RACES WILL BE IN WARMER PLACES. DOES THAT AFFECT YOU AT ALL? MA: “Compared to the summer we’ve had, anything is cooler than what this summer was. I really struggled in the heat at California, Bristol and Daytona, so I’m enjoying the cool weather now. Anything compared to California’s second race is cool to me, so I don’t think it will make a huge difference.” 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Points Standings – After Race 33 1. Carl Edwards 4494 2. David Reutimann 3942 3. Jason Leffler 3733 4. Kevin Harvick 3713 5. David Ragan 3576 6. Bobby Hamilton Jr 3434 7. Stephen Leicht 3337 8. Greg Biffle 3256 9. Marcos Ambrose 3225 10. Mike Wallace 3188 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings – After Race 33 1. David Ragan 233 2. Marcos Ambrose 202 3. Kyle Krisiloff 180 4. Brad Keselowski 179 5. Juan Pablo Montoya 169 6. Brad Coleman 163 7. Robert Richardson Jr 114 8. Justin Diercks 51 2007 RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD TALLY David Ragan 11 Marcos Ambrose 5 Brad Keselowski 5 Juan Pablo Montoya 4 Brad Coleman 4 Kyle Krisiloff 3 Timothy Peters 1 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$918,193 (A$995,978) in prizemoney in 33 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 |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
|
|
| A1GP |
|---|
| Bikes |
|---|
| Carrera Cup |
|---|
| Champ Car / Atlantic |
|---|
| Clio Cup UK |
|---|
| Drag Racing |
|---|
| Drifting |
|---|
| DTM |
|---|
| Formula BMW |
|---|
| F3000 |
|---|
| Formula Ford |
|---|
| Formula Master |
|---|
| General News |
|---|
| GP2 |
|---|
| IndyCar / Indy Pro |
|---|
| Irish Motorsport |
|---|
| Karting |
|---|
| NASCAR |
|---|
| OZ / NZ Motorsport |
|---|
| Palmer Audi |
|---|
| Rallycross |
|---|
| Rallying |
|---|
| Shows & Events |
|---|
| Sport Maxx |
|---|
| T-Cars |
|---|
| US Motorsport |
|---|
| World Series by Renault |
|---|
| WTCC |
|---|