Marcos Ambrose was one of the stars of the show in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series today at Watkins Glen International, brining home his JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Camry third in the Helluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.
Ambrose started the 90 lap race from 11th position, but he charged through the field in the opening exchanges, dominating proceedings alongside eventual race winner Juan Pablo Montoya.
The result was Ambrose’s fifth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series podium and third top-ten result for the season, which follows on from a dominate win in yesterday’s Nationwide Series race, his third victory in three years at Watkins Glen.
“Once again the team gave me a great car today, but we just didn’t quite have enough to get by Montoya in the second half of the race, all credit to him for his win, he drove a heck of a race,” Marcos Ambrose said.
“I really drove the car into the ground today, every lap was like a qualifying lap, it’s so intense at the front of the field, and it was a lot of fun dicing with Juan in the middle of the race.
“After the last round of pit stops, the handling of the car really went away, but it’s still a good result for Little Debbie, and I’m proud of the crew for coming home in the top-three.
“The NASCAR Sprint Cup is the most competitive form of motorsport in the world, it’s a very hard deal to win races here, but that’s what I’m here for, and we’re going to keep at it.
“Yesterday was without doubt the most satisfying win of my career, we’ve had a really tough year, and the results we’ve had this weekend really put the disappointing aspects of the season behind us.
“We’re back to Michigan next weekend, it’s a track that I really like competing on, and I hope that the momentum we’ve gaining this weekend can roll on.”
Ambrose was the hard charger from the race start, making it past A.J. Allmendinger for second position during the opening round of green flag pit stops on lap 28, prior to the first caution period when P.J. Jones went off course.
After dropping to third on the restart, Ambrose fought back, making it past race leader Montoya at turn one on lap 40, holding down the top spot for eight laps.
The second caution of the race was on lap 42 for Bobby Labonte, but the restart didn’t go to plan, with Ambrose dropping to fourth after getting caught up on the turn one ripple strip.
Quickly turning the situation around, Ambrose was back by Kurt Busch for second within a handful of laps.
The race was then interrupted by a series of yellow flags, which started on lap 62 to pick up debris from Clint Bowyer’s car, then Boris Said made heavy contact with the wall after being turned around by Tony Stewart, and finally on lap 70, when Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin came together.
With a car that was temperamental on restarts, Ambrose fell back to third behind Busch with the resumption of racing on lap 75, but he was smartly back by two laps later.
While Montoya ran away from the field, Ambrose was praying for a caution, which was a possibility when Regan Smith suffered a flat tyre with only a handful of laps remaining.
With the race remaining clear until the finish, Busch was able to slip past Ambrose for second position on the final lap at turn one.
The result lifts the Australian to 26th in the season point score.
Race highlights will be shown today on Fox Sports 3, with further replays on One HD hosted by Marcos Ambrose from Tuesday night.
Next weekend the countdown to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase continues at Michigan International Speedway with the Carfax 400.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Review
Watkins Glen International- Helluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen
1. Juan Pablo Montoya (Chevrolet)
2. Kurt Busch (Dodge)
3. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)
4. A.J. Allmendinger (Ford)
5. Carl Edwards (Ford)
6. Jamie McMurray (Chevrolet)
7. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)
8. Kyle Busch (Toyota)
9. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
10. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (after race 22 of 36)
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)- 3226 points
2. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)- 3021
3. Kurt Busch (Dodge)- 2892
4. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)- 2891
5. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)- 2882
6. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)- 2872
7. Kyle Busch (Toyota)- 2862
8. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)- 2861
9. Carl Edwards (Ford)- 2821
10. Matt Kenseth (Ford)- 2806
11. Greg Biffle (Ford)- 2743
12. Mark Martin (Chevrolet)- 2641
26. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)- 2055
Next Event
Michigan International Speedway- Carfax 400
Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times
Nationwide Race Replays
One HD- Tuesday August 10th, 7:30pm – 8:30pm
One HD- Wednesday August 11th, 9:30am – 12:00pm
One HD- Friday August 13th, 2:35am – 5:05am
One HD- Saturday August 14th, 8:00am – 9:00am
Sprint Cup Race Replays
Fox Sports 3 (Plus Fox Sports 3HD)- Monday August 9th, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Fox Sports 1 (Plus Fox Sports 1HD)- Tuesday August 10th, 3:00am – 4:30am
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Tuesday August 10rd, 8:30pm – 9:30pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Thursday August 12th, 2:00pm – 3:00pm
For further information on Marcos Ambrose, visit www.marcosambrose.com.au.
