Marcos Ambrose is working on moving past the toughest day of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career after missing a golden opportunity to seize his first career victory at Infineon Raceway last weekend.Ambrose was cruising to victory until he shut down his engine in during a late race caution in a bid to converse fuel, but the power plant in his car struggled to kick back into life, dropping him down the order before eventually finishing in sixth.
Today, Ambrose candidly talked about the mishap on North American television program “Inside NASCAR”, with Brad Daugherty, Chris Myers, Randy Pemberton and Michael Waltrip.
"It stinks that we gave away our first victory," said Ambrose, whose Toyota Camry will be sponsored by Lance Fresh at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend.
"Leading the race, I turned the motor off under caution and couldn't get it cranked back up.
“I gave away a golden opportunity with an unforced error - my error.
“We were conserving fuel from the start because our fuel mileage numbers were not where they needed to be.
“We were good to go to the end, except for a green-white-chequered flag finish.
“The only way we thought we would lose the race was fuel mileage.
“I'm not blaming NASCAR, I put myself in a bad situation, it was their judgment call and it is their house and their rules.
"With the engine not firing again, it was a combination of things.
"The engine was hot, the fuel was sloshing around, we were on a hill and you can't control the way the fuel flows through the carburetor.
“It was the first time it happened, and I've learned from it.
“Sure, it makes you wonder who I need to be or what I need to do better.
“When you trip over yourself like that, it's easy to get depressed and get bogged down with the pressures of racing.
“But, the way I look at it, I've got to keep going, it's just a race and there's one this weekend to look forward too.
“I've just got to stay relaxed, focused and remember what is important."
The incident was unfortunate, but the JTG Daugherty Racing team is regrouping from the hard lesson learned.
"It's a lesson learned and it will make our team stronger," crew chief Frank Kerr said.
"We went there with a plan and stuck with it.
“At the end of the race, we had the best car.
“We had been shutting the motor off every yellow to make sure we had enough fuel.
“It was a routine that we had done the whole race.
“Not sure what happened going up the hill and why it did that.
“It just wouldn't start back up.
“We were trying to make sure we were there at the end if we were faced with green-white-chequers.
“It's just unfortunate and we have to learn from it and go on to Loudon."
Looking beyond the incident, Ambrose was proud of his JTG Daugherty Racing team and their determination on race day.
"I'm just really proud of my team to see them stand up like they did on Sunday," Ambrose said.
"Jimmie Johnson was faster than us at the start of the race, but my guys worked on the car and made it better than the number 48 machine at the end of the race.
“They delivered on pit road and put us ahead of Jimmie out of the pits.
“We were able to put a gap between us and pull away."
Team owners Jodi and Tad Geschickter along with Daugherty were also pleased with the team's overall performance and feel like a win is around the corner for their organization.
"We're not disappointed - there's something wrong if you are disappointed with a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," said Brad Daugherty, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing and five-time NBA All-Star.
"We are happy with Marcos and tickled that he is driving for us.
“Marcos is an outstanding driver and I'm surprised he hasn't already won a race.
“We've watched him excel at places like Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and other tracks. He's going to win one soon."
The race this weekend from New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be broadcast live in Australia on Fox Sports 3 at 2:00am on Monday, with replays being shown both on Fox Sports and One HD.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Preview
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Track Distance: 1.06 mile/1.7km
Track Type: Intermediate Oval
Crowd Capacity: 93,521
Last time at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Slyvania 300- Mark Martin winner
Marcos Ambrose finishing position- 20th
Other Marcos Ambrose Results at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2009 (1): 23rd
NASCAR Nationwide Series
2008: 14th
2007: 30th
NASCAR Truck Series
2006: 23rd
NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (after race 16 of 36)
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)- 2334 points
2. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)- 2194
3. Kyle Busch (Toyota)- 2193
4. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)- 2183
5. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)- 2142
6. Kurt Busch (Dodge)- 2118
7. Matt Kenseth (Ford)- 2092
8. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)- 2027
9. Greg Biffle (Ford)- 2011
10. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)- 1983
11. Mark Martin (Chevrolet)- 1947
12. Carl Edwards (Ford)- 1932
27. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)- 1469
Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times
Qualifying
One HD- Sunday June 27th, 12:45am – 2:00am
Happy Hour Practice
One HD- Monday June 28th, 1:05am – 2:00am (following on from the European F1 Grand Prix and ANDRA Pro Series Drag Racing)
Race
Fox Sports 3 (Plus Fox Sports 3 HD)- Monday June 28th, 2:00am – 6:30am
Race Replays
Fox Sports 1 (Plus Fox Sports 1 HD)- Monday June 28th, 4:30pm – 7:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Tuesday June 28th, 10:00pm – 11:00pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Friday July 2nd, 12:30am – 1:30am
For further information on Marcos Ambrose, visit www.marcosambrose.com.au.
