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Marcos
Ambrose has been robbed of his first ever NASCAR victory when taken out
while leading with two laps remaining in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada today.
The
Australian led 37 laps, more than any other driver, in the Aussie
Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion and was on course to
record his first NASCAR win when turned around while leading by the
black-flagged Robby Gordon at the second corner at a restart with two
laps remaining.
Ambrose
staged a remarkable recovery to still finish seventh, making up spots
over the final two laps, but the damage was done and Ambrose was
prevented from taking the chequered flag after dominating the race.
Ambrose
qualified fifth and was in fourth place by the first corner at the start
of the 74-lap race. After the first round of pit stops Ambrose was up to
third and on lap 21 Ambrose passed Boris Said for second.
Six
laps later Ambrose made a dive down the inside of race leader Scott
Pruett to take the lead and from this point on absolutely dominated the
race in a field full of the best road course drivers in NASCAR.
Ambrose
and Gordon were vying for the lead when the caution flags flew with six
laps remaining. Contact between the two saw Gordon spin exiting turn
four. Under caution Gordon reassumed his position behind Ambrose despite
NASCAR directing the #55 car to restart down the order.
As
the green-white-chequered restart gave the field two laps to the finish,
Gordon, who had disobeyed NASCAR’s instructions, drove into the back
of Ambrose, turning him around in front of the pack.
The
Australian did well to recover his spinning car and repassed several
cars to claim seventh. Gordon crossed the line first but was classified
in 18th as his car was not scored for the final two laps.
Despite
the disappointment of losing a certain race win, Ambrose earned his
fourth NASCAR Busch Series top 10 and scored his best road course
finish, eclipsing the eighth the 30-year-old scored in Mexico City in
March.
The
result also elevates Ambrose into eighth in the NASCAR Busch Series
points standings after 23 of 35 races.
“When
I came over here I made a promise to myself that I was going to be happy
no matter what I was dealt,” said Ambrose.
“Today,
I’m going to focus on being happy because the Kingsford car was the
best car here today without doubt.
“Undoubtedly,
today we had a bad end result and not through our own doing.
“But
I am really proud of this team for giving me a car that was capable of
winning and we showed a lot here today.
“When
I came over here nobody knew who I was and today we were pulling away
from the best road racers in America and were on our way to victory.
“I’ve
got Watkins Glen to look forward to next weekend and we will have a
point to prove.”
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ROBBY
GORDON MOTORSPORTS TO FIELD MARCOS AMBROSE IN NEXTEL CUP DEBUT
Robby
Gordon Motorsports will field Australian Marcos Ambrose in the Busch
Series rookie’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut in the Centurion Boats
at The Glen at Watkins Glen this weekend.
After
one of the most controversial incidents in NASCAR’s recent history
last weekend, Ambrose has accepted a ‘peace offering’ from Gordon to
drive the #77 Camping World Ford Fusion, which will also carry some
signage from Ambrose’s regular sponsor Kingsford Charcoal.
Ambrose
will continue his NASCAR Busch campaign on Saturday in the #59 Kingsford
Charcoal Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, but will now do
‘double duty’ in the Robby Gordon Motorsports entry.
Gordon
will drive the #55 Verizon Wireless Ford Fusion in the Busch race and
the #7 Jim Beam Ford Fusion in the Nextel Cup Series race.
The
Sunday event will be a joint effort between Robby Gordon Motorsports and
Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, with Ambrose’s regular Kingsford crew doing
the pit work and his new Crew Chief Ernie Cope calling the shots from
the box on Sunday.
Ambrose
was originally scheduled to make his Nextel Cup debut in a Wood
Brothers/JTG Racing entry this weekend, but several circumstances meant
the team had to put their plans on hold
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