Marcos Ambrose’s frustrating NASCAR Sprint Cup season continued at Daytona International Speedway today when he was the innocent victim of a 17 car pile up late in the Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca Cola.

Ambrose emerged unhurt from his wrecked Toyota Camry, after he was stuck in the middle of the ‘big one’ accident with only 12 laps to go.

In a wild night of racing that featured nine yellow flag cautions, Ambrose was classified 32nd at the conclusion of competition after running strongly in 15th when the wreck occurred on the entry of turn three.

“It’s a hard deal, the restrictor plate races are a lottery, and today wasn’t our lucky day,” Ambrose said.

“It all happened so quickly in the wreck, there was absolutely nothing anyone could do about it.

“We were fighting hard all day long, but the car was pretty quick out in clean air.

“We’ve got to keep our chins up, after Chicagoland next weekend there are a few strong events for us like Indianapolis, Pocono and Watkins Glen, we’ll bounce back.”

The weekend started on a high note for Ambrose, placing third in final practice, but he was forced to start from 27th place after qualifying was rained out, with the race also delayed by two hours due to wet conditions.

From the start, Ambrose charged through the field, running straight up to 14th place on lap five before the handling of the car degraded.

After pitting under the first competition caution, the JTG Daugherty crew used all of the subsequent caution periods to head to the pits for fuel, tyres and adjustments.

Throughout the middle stages of the race, Ambrose drifted throughout top 30, but was on the charge forward through the field when in clean air to be 21st after lap 94.

On lap 103, Ambrose was able to get the ‘wave around’ and gain track position on the leaders after Kyle Busch hit the outside wall on the back straight.

With 41 laps to go, Ambrose was running in 26th place with enough fuel to run to the finish, but he managed to move up to 15th late in the race after more cautions.

Sadly for Ambrose, a hard night of toil came to naught when Kurt Busch lost control in front of the field, with the ensuing pile up involving half of the cars still running on the race track.

After a lengthy red flag period, which included time spent extinguishing a fire involving Mark Martin’s car, racing resumed until Sam Hornish Jnr made heavy contact with the wall on the race to the white flag.

In a green-white-chequered flag finish, Kevin Harvick held on to take the victory after Clint Bowyer spun out on the last lap.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series continues with their Saturday night racing schedule, with the LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Review

Daytona International Speedway- Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca Cola
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)
2. Kasey Kahne (Ford)
3. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)
4. Dale Earnhardt Jnr (Chevrolet)
5. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
6. Carl Edwards (Ford)
7. Kurt Busch (Dodge)
8. Reed Sorenson (Toyota)
9. Mike Bliss (Chevrolet)
10. Scott Speed (Red Bull)
32. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (after race 18 of 36)
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)- 2684 points
2. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)- 2472
3. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)- 2459
4. Kurt Busch (Dodge)- 2439
5. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)- 2400
6. Kyle Busch (Toyota)- 2376
7. Matt Kenseth (Ford)- 2322
8. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)- 2319
9. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)- 2251
10. Greg Biffle (Ford)- 2234
11. Dale Earnhardt Jnr- 2177
12. Carl Edwards (Ford)- 2170
27. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)- 1660

Next Event
Chicagoland Speedway- LifeLock.com 400

Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times

Race Replays
Fox Sports 1 (Plus Fox Sports 1 HD)- Monday July 5th, 4:30pm – 7:30pm
Fox Sports 2 (Plus Fox Sports 2 HD)- Monday July 6th, 8:30am – 11:30am
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Tuesday July 6th, 8:30pm – 9:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Thursday July 8th, 5:30am – 8:30am
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Friday July 9th, 3:30pm – 4:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Saturday July 10th, 8:30am – 9:30am

For further information on Marcos Ambrose, visit www.marcosambrose.com.au.