Ambrose Jumps To Eighth In Points After 11th Place In Kentucky

Marcos Ambrose has jumped back into the top 10 in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a strong day earned him 11th place in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky today.

Ambrose qualified sixth for the event earlier today, his fifth top five qualifying result from 16 races in this year’s NASCAR Busch Series, before narrowly missing his fourth top 10 finish for the season.

The Australian ran well in the first half of the race in the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion, running with the lead group in the top five for much of the first 100 laps.

The second half of the race saw Ambrose develop a problem with an exhaust header pipe, reducing the engine power of his car.

Ambrose drove as hard as he could to contend with his power deficit and maintain a strong result. The final restart of the race with 16 laps remaining saw Ambrose in eighth position, but over the course of the final laps the 30-year-old dropped to 11th place.

The solid finish lifts Ambrose up to eighth place in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series standings and the Australian continues to sit in second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings behind fellow Ford driver David Ragan.

Ford driver Stephen Leicht won today’s Meijer 300 ahead of Brad Coleman and Scott Wimmer, while Carl Edwards continues to lead the NASCAR Busch Series standings.

Ambrose will next compete in the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion in the AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 23.

Marcos Ambrose – Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion

“We had a problem with an exhaust header in the last half of the race and that put us on the back foot,” said Ambrose.

“It lost us some power and made us vulnerable, so we just hung on as much as we could.

“We wanted to run top 10 all day and we were able to do that. We just lost out on 10th spot right at the end.

“The handling of the car was really good in the first half of the race and I was pleased with how it was all going. Once we were down on power it made things tough. As the track changed we developed some understeer and our car got tight but all-in-all we managed to come away with a good result.

“This was a great day for our team. Wood Brothers/JTG Racing had two cars running inside the top 10 for most of the race today and everyone put in an excellent performance.

“It definitely feels like I have got a handle on these 1.5-mile ovals now. The next step is to get a little better on the short tracks, so we will see how we go next weekend on the flat, one mile oval in Milwaukee.”

RESULTS: Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway
Race 16 in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series
1. #90 Stephen Leicht 200 laps
2. #18 Brad Coleman
3. #29 Scott Wimmer
4. #41 David Stremme
5. #88 Shane Huffman
6. #20 Aric Almirola
7. #47 Kelly Bires
8. #6 David Ragan
9. #22 Mike Bliss
10. #37 Greg Biffle
11. #59 Marcos Ambrose

RESULTS: Qualifying
1. #4 Regan Smith 30.504
2. #9 Chase Miller 30.552
3. #1 JJ Yeley 30.574
4. #60 Carl Edwards 30.605
5. #90 Stephen Leicht 30.617
6. #59 Marcos Ambrose 30.631
7. #18 Brad Coleman 30.632
8. #33 Cale Gale 30.701
9. #66 Steve Wallace 30.726
10. #6 David Ragan 30.731

2007 NASCAR Busch Series Points Standings – After Race 16
1. Carl Edwards 2534
2. Dave Blaney 1833
3. Kevin Harvick 1798
4. David Reutimann 1764
5. Regan Smith 1744
6. David Ragan 1713
7. Greg Biffle 1647
8. Marcos Ambrose 1638
9. Bobby Hamilton Jr 1629
10. Jason Leffler 1603

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