Marcos Ambrose has been robbed of any chance of a top finish at the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida today.
Ambrose started from 18th position aboard his #47 Kroger entry from JTG Daugherty Racing, beginning his second full season at the top level of NASCAR, the Sprint Cup Series.
The opening stages were encouraging for the Australian, who was running a solid pace in the lead bunch around the 2.5-mile superspeedway and was as high as 12th place.
But just as the race began to reach its halfway point, Ambrose reported engine problems, with smoke coming from his engine bay.
On closer inspection in the pit garage, his car was leaking oil and was forced to retire with engine issues.
“We got an oil leak that was terminal,” said Ambrose.
“It’s just too bad for us. We were running great just riding around just biding our time just waiting for all to settle down.
“It just hurts the year when you don’t get off to a good start. The whole off-season was all about let’s just get off to a solid start and build a solid championship run from that but it’s not going to be.
“I’m really disappointed, not just for the race but for the whole year. We’re going to take a big hit with points and it’s going to take some digging out.”
RESULTS: Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway
Race 1 of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
1. #1 Jamie McMurray 208 laps
2. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
3. #16 Greg Biffle
4. #33 Clint Bowyer
5. #00 David Reutimann
6. #56 Martin Truex Jr
7. #29 Kevin Harvick
8. #17 Matt Kenseth
9. #99 Carl Edwards
10. #42 Juan Pablo Montoya
41. #47 Marcos Ambrose 79 laps
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings
After Race 1 of 36
1. Jamie McMurray 190 points
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr 175
3. Greg Biffle 170
4. Clint Bowyer 165
5. Kevin Harvick 156
6. David Reutimann 155
7. Martin Truex Jr 155
8. Matt Kenseth 142
9. Juan Pablo Montoya 139
10. Carl Edwards 138
41. Marcos Ambrose 40
NEXT RACE:
21 February 2010
Auto Club 500
Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California
TV TIMES:
United States: FOX – 3:00pm US Eastern
Australia: FOX Sports 2 – 6:00am AEDST
