Australian Marcos Ambrose is looking to break through for his first Montreal race win tomorrow, after scoring pole position for the NASCAR Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200.Ambrose finished on top of the time charts, 0.16sec clear of local Canadian hero and former Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, after the pair traded positions throughout a dramatic qualifying session.
"I think I just made the entire Canadian population mad because it would have been a great story for Jacques Villeneuve to be on pole," Marcos Ambrose said.
"I’ve watched him for years and he’s a hero of mine.
"On the last lap, I had my tongue hanging out, I didn’t want to know where I was stacking up, I just wanted lap times.
“I didn’t know he was matching me lap for lap.
“It’s great to be able to start on the pole because this place has been really tough on us.
“I’m pretty proud of my guys; my NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew gave up their off weekend to come up here and help me win this race.
“We’re hoping to do that tomorrow, but it’s not going to be easy, there’s a lot of talent in the field.
“We feel like we’ve brought our best piece that we can, and hopefully the luck is on our side this year and we can forget about the misfortune of the last three years.
“It’s not been any one thing, it’s been a combination of bad luck and problems out of our control primarily that cost us the wins.
“They’ve all come down to a really close finish and unfortunately we haven’t managed to seal it."
Ambrose has finished seventh, third and second respectively and looks to seal the deal tomorrow.
"The race hasn’t unfolded the way we thought it was going to the last three years," Ambrose said.
"Our approach to the weekend doesn’t change; I think our ability to make good choices during the race is going to be the biggest thing for us.
“It’s been a rough place for me to get to victory lane; it’s hard to win a NASCAR race.
“As I've said before, you’ve got a lot of fantastic drivers here this year in particular.
“You've got Jacques (Villeneuve) and (Patrick) Carpentier plus you bring in (Brad) Keselowski and Joey (Logano) and Carl Edwards- it’s a tough field, it takes a lot to win these events."
The pole position was Ambrose’s fourth career Nationwide Series pole position, in his 74th start, with his only other Nationwide start this season at Watkins Glen International resulting in a dominate victory from pole position.
Earlier in the day, Ambrose was fourth and third quickest in the respective opening practice sessions.
Tomorrow’s race will be broadcast on ONE HD from 6:15am, check your local guides for broadcast details.
Meanwhile the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has a rare weekend off, returning on September 5 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Emory Health Care 500, the second last race before the cut-off for the title deciding Chase.
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Preview
NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge Qualifying Order
1. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)
2. Jacques Vileneuve (Toyota)
3. Joey Logano (Toyota)
4. Carl Edwards (Ford)
5. Boris Said (Ford)
6. Jason Leffler (Toyota)
7. Paul Menard (Ford)
8. Brad Keselowski (Dodge)
9. Max Papis (Chevrolet)
10. Brad Coleman (Toyota)
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Track Distance: 2.71 miles/4.36 kilometres
Track Type: 15 turn road course
Last time at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
NAPA Auto Parts 200, winner- Carl Edwards
Marcos Ambrose finishing position- 2nd
Other Marcos Ambrose Results at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
NASCAR Nationwide Series
2008: 3rd
2007: 7th
Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times
Race Replays
ONE HD- Monday August 30th, 6:15am – 9:30am
ONE HD- Tuesday August 31st, 8:30pm – 9:30pm
ONE HD- Thursday September 2nd, 8:00am – 11:00am
ONE HD- Friday September 3rd, 5:00am – 6:00am
ONE HD- Saturday September 4th, 7:30am – 8:30am
Next NASCAR Sprint Cup Race
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Emory Health Care 500, September 5th
NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings (after race 24 of 36)
1. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet)- 3521 points
2. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)- 3242
3. Kyle Busch (Toyota)- 3170
4. Carl Edwards (Ford)- 3113
5. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)- 3108
6. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)- 3107
7. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)- 3101
8. Matt Kenseth (Ford)- 3095
9. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)- 3077
10. Kurt Busch (Dodge)- 3073
11. Greg Biffle (Ford)- 3055
12. Clint Bowyer (Chevrolet)- 2920
26. Marcos Ambrose (Toyota)- 2276
For further information on Marcos Ambrose, visit www.marcosambrose.com.au.
