Marcos Ambrose has jumped one spot in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings and now sits ninth after finishing 13th in the Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia today.
Ambrose started from 16th in the 250-lap event by virtue of Owner’s Points, with the field set by the NASCAR rulebook as a result of heavy rain canceling qualifying and postponing the race two days.
The Australian showed strong pace, outlining the steady improvement of JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ford Fusions.
It was a strong short track performance for Ambrose, who ran inside the top 10 on several occasions and mixed it with many more experienced drivers throughout the race.
Ambrose collected his 14th top 20 finish in the last 17 races in the #59 Kingsford Ford Fusion, marking his 14th top 15 finish for the season.
Ambrose finished eighth in the 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series and is keen to emulate that feat this season. The Australian now sits just 48 points behind Mike Wallace in eighth place.
Carl Edwards won today’s Emerson Radio 250 ahead of Scott Wimmer and Clint Bowyer.
Ambrose will enjoy a rare weekend off next weekend before racing in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup competition at Dover International Speedway the following weekend.
QUOTES – MARCOS AMBROSE
“We had a solid car tonight and it’s just good to get this race run,” said Ambrose.
“This team is definitely making progress. Richmond is a tough track for us but tonight we were really in the mix up there. It’s great to see a lot of hard work paying off.
“We still have a lot of areas we know we can improve but we have a good direction and some momentum going. Gary Cogswell is doing a superb job leading this Kingsford team.”
RESULTS: Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway
Race 28 in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series
1. #60 Carl Edwards 250 laps
2. #29 Scott Wimmer
3. #2 Clint Bowyer
4. #18 Denny Hamlin
5. #6 David Ragan
6. #16 Greg Biffle
7. #20 Joey Logano
8. #33 Kevin Harvick
9. #64 David Stremme
10. #32 Kyle Busch
13. #59 Marcos Ambrose
2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Standings – After Race 28 of 35
1. Clint Bowyer 4088
2. Carl Edwards 3881
3. Brad Keselowski 3809
4. Mike Bliss 3604
5. David Ragan 3583
6. David Reutimann 3564
7. Kyle Busch 3478
8. Mike Wallace 3254
9. Marcos Ambrose 3206
10. Jason Leffler 3202
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