Macros Ambrose posted his strongest showing of the 2011 season in today’s Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, coming home in fourth position after being a leading contender all weekend long.
Ambrose’s eighth career top-five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish came after he equaled his career best qualifying effort of second.
The result has seen Ambrose jump ten places in the season standings to sit in 17th position, heading into the fourth race of the year at Bristol.
“It was a great day; it was a great first top-five for RPM,” Marcos Ambrose said.
“I have to thank Richard Petty for believing in me and giving me a shot, as well as Stanley for getting behind us.
“It is going to be a great year. We had great pit stops and a good crew today.
“There was a ton of good energy out here today, I am really happy with the finish.”
From the green flag, Ambrose slotted into third position, but it wasn’t long before Robby Gordon spun at turn four, bringing out an early caution.
After pitting for adjustments, Ambrose restarted in 10th place, and was lucky to scrape past pole sitter Matt Kenseth, who suffered a flat tyre at turn one.
Following a caution for an Andy Lally accident, Ambrose jumped away on the green flag to run comfortably in fifth position, chasing down Juan Pablo Montoya.
As green flag pit stops commenced after a long spell of clean running, Ambrose was classified in second position behind Greg Biffle, with the Stanley Ford Fusion the fastest car on the track.
Rejoining the action in eighth spot, Ambrose pitted again under caution on lap 98 when Kyle Busch glanced the wall on the front stretch.
It was during this round of stops that Ambrose was credited with leading a lap, earning the Australian his first bonus point for the season.
Fortune swung in Ambrose’s favour when he narrowly missed a spinning Kurt Busch, whose brother Kyle was out of the race shortly afterwards when he blew his engine.
After running around ninth position leading up to a round of green flag stops, some skillful spotting kept Ambrose on the track as the yellow flashed on again for a crash involving David Gilliland.
The Richard Petty Motorsports crew however produced a magic stop when the pits did officially open, allowing Ambrose to haul back the lost ground.
Ambrose’s Ford Fusion then came into a league of its own, charging through to fifth position, posting several fastest laps in the process.
The caution light flashed on again when last week’s winner Jeff Gordon hit the wall, allowing Ambrose to make his penultimate stop, rejoining the race in sixth position.
After David Reutimann pitted late, Ambrose found himself in fourth, chasing the top three to the finish.
After 267 laps, Ambrose flashed to the chequered flag hot on the heels of Montoya in third position, with Ford driver Carl Edwards claiming his third win in the last five races.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series enjoys a rare weekend off before reconvening at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday March 20, for the Jeff Byrd 500.
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas - Race Results
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