Mexico City
Mar 05, 2007

Team Australia star Marcos Ambrose has risen to fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a remarkable comeback to finish eighth in the Telcel Motorola Mexico 200 in Mexico City today.

Ambrose had the chance for an even better result slip away on lap 64 when he was spun while racing within the lead pack in sixth position, dropping him to 24th position and setting the scene for a remarkable comeback, culminating in Ambrose passing seven cars inthe final two laps.

Ambrose collected US$53,820 (A$68,674) in prizemoney for his efforts in today’s Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 out of a total prize pool of US$2,512,372 (A$3,169,785). The result in Ambrose’s highest NASCAR Busch Series finish, coming in only his third Busch event.

Ambrose got off to a strong start in the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion, muscling his way to seventh by the end of the first lap after qualifying in 12th position.

The two-time Australian V8 Supercar Champion made his first of two pit stops on lap 12 and from there on ran in about sixth or seventh position as he diced with NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers and fellow Ford stars Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Boris Said.

Ambrose was as high as fifth shortly after his second pit stop and was comfortably with the lead pack in sixth position when his chances of a top five result were taken away.

Ambrose was hit from behind by JJ Yeley in Turn Three on lap 64, Ambrose pointing out after the race that the car of Biffle directly ahead of him had slowed slightly, resulting in Ambrose checking up and that Yeley had little time to react and was not to blame – it was just one of those things that happens in NASCAR road course racing.

Both Ambrose and Yeley spun in front of almost the entire field, and the Australian dropped back to 24th, his Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion lucky not to be hit by another car as the field streamed past.

His progress back through the pack was sensational as his road racing talents shone, but a series of caution periods for late-race incidents thwarted his efforts.

Ambrose had reached 15th when the caution flag flew on the final lap, creating a ‘green-white-chequered’ finish, NASCAR giving the field an opportunity at two clear laps of racing before the finish.

In those two laps Ambrose passed an amazing seven cars to finish in eighth, gain his first NASCAR Busch Series top 10 result and finish as the second-highest Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender behind race winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ambrose rises to an outstanding fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, equal with defending series champ Kevin Harvick who did not race in Mexico, as well as maintaining his lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

It was a strong road course result for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, with both Ford Fusions in the top 10 as Jon Wood drove a smart and consistent race to finish 10th.

Today’s Telcel Motorola Mexico 200 was won by former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya in front of an estimated crowd of 72,971 after a controversial incident with his team-mate Scott Pruett, with defending race winner Denny Hamlin second and noted NASCAR road racer Boris Said in third.

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

“Today was a really long day, â€￾ said Ambrose.

“We fought all day. When we had clear track the worked nicely but when we went back into the pack after being spun the car couldn’t quite do what I needed it to do.

“Eighth is still a really good result for us but we had a better result in us today and unfortunately we didn’t get it.

“It was just one of those deals when we got turned around. Greg Biffle was just in front of us and he checked up through Turn Three. I checked up slightly and Yeley got into the back of me at just the wrong moment and we both went around in front of the almost whole field.

“The Ganassi cars were fast this weekend so we have a little bit of work to do on our road course program but we can definitely be proud of what we achieved today.

“We got our first top 10 in the Busch Series, we’re still well inside the top 10 in points and we are still the leading rookie. So life is definitely good at the moment.

“Those last two laps were just a mess. It’s just what you get in those green-white-chequered situations. We just had to try and finish as well as trying to pass as many cars as possible.

“There were people bumping and bashing into each other all over the track.

“We got up to 15th from 24th on merit there, which shows the car had some really good pace. In those last two laps we just had to go for it without doing anything that would put us out and we got to eighth.

“I think we passed more cars than anyone out there today.

“Now we can move on to Las Vegas. We tested there in the preseason so we are hoping that it is another strong weekend for the Kingsford team.

“It was good to get back on a road course where I’ve got a better idea of what I’m doing. But, I love the ovals. The ovals, to me, are the best thing that I’ve ever done in my life.

“I’m glad that I can run a couple of road courses, but my passion is with the ovals. “

Craig Gore – Team Australia

“Once again Marcos has shown his outstanding ability and a real true Australian fighting spirit, â€￾ said Gore.

“For him to fight back from being turned around while he was running strong in seventh, drop back to 24th and then pass all those car to get eighth in an amazing effort.

“We expected a lot of Marcos this weekend for his first road course race and he certainly delivered.

“I can’t wait to see him race in Las Vegas next weekend. â€￾

I saw it on the news last night. Best news I've heard all year.

The race itself was great. A really cool track they've got down there, bit of a shame the nextel series doesnt race there.

43 of those tanks barreling into turn one... brilliant!!!

edit: oh but the whole race was wrapped around montoya's little finger. From the green flag to the chequred, really all the commentators were talking about lol.

true

and they had a safety car every time one driver put a wheel in the dirt

My favorite road course is the Glenn (Watkins Glenn). The perfect mix between dirt and concrete barriers.

Ambrose is a dead set champ, wish he was still in the V8s.

have to agree with that. even if the car that crashed or spun got going again they still brought out the safety car.

they really got carried away with montoya. i've always been a fan of his and he's now back with his ol mates in chip/ganassi racing which was always a good team but the way they portrayed his f1 career was a bit optimistic to say the least. jst because he won in monaco doesn't make him some f1 superstar.

very typical though was his move on his teammate to take the lead. he's always been a hot head. if it was the v8's he would've been penalised too.

good race though. ambrose was actually as high as 4th for a lot of it. considering the amount of cars in the race and the fact that he got a mention during the commentary shows he is being noticed.

such low tech racing though. refuel through a bottle, 5 bolts holding rims on, trolley jacks to lift cars, carby engines etc. all seems to work though.