Australian NASCAR ace Marcos Ambrose has netted his biggest ever pay day by finishing 22nd in the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana today.
Ambrose and the #47 Little Debbie Ford Fusion entry of JTG Daugherty Racing earned US$148,825 (A$156,185) in today’s 160-lap race, his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his first on an oval.
Race winner Jimmie Johnson earned US$509,236 for winning today’s event in front of approximately 240,000 fans. The race was marred by 11 cautions, including six ‘competition cautions’ called to allow teams to change tyres as a result of extreme wear around the 2.5-mile speedway.
Ambrose qualified JTG Daugherty Racing into its first Sprint Cup race yesterday with a lap strong enough for 24th fastest, but an engine change resulted in the Australian starting from the rear of the 43-car field.
From there Ambrose steadily moved forward despite 52 laps of the 160-lap race running under caution. Ambrose was in good company coming home in the midfield and running strongly on the lead lap, finishing just behind former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr and one spot in front of two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
Ambrose will concentrate on NASCAR Nationwide Series duties next weekend in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, a race that Ambrose all-but won last year before he was involved in a controversial incident with Robby Gordon.
The following weekend Ambrose will again do double-duty, racing both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races at the Watkins Glen International road course in New York state. The Sprint Cup start will come in the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion of Wood Brothers Racing.
QUOTES - MARCOS AMBROSE
“It was just awesome,” said Ambrose.
“It’s just a real shame about the tyre thing. I think NASCAR did a great job of keeping us safe out there.”
“I think it was the best of a bad situation the way they chose to run that race. We raced good. You’ve got to race hard and you’ve got to look after your tyres, too.”
“It was just a battle out there. We fought hard and we learned a lot and I got a lot of experience. I’ve run the Brickyard and I feel like we’ve really achieved something this weekend.”
RESULTS: Allstate 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 20 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson 160 laps
2. #99 Carl Edwards
3. #11 Denny Hamlin
4. #19 Elliott Sadler
5. #24 Jeff Gordon
6. #26 Jamie McMurray
7. #9 Kasey Kahne
8. #16 Greg Biffle
9. #31 Jeff Burton
10. #84 AJ Allmendinger
22. #47 Marcos Ambrose
| 
|