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Auto Club 500 Report
AMBROSE
FACED WITH MECHANICAL PROBLEMS IN CALIFORNIA
FONTANA, CA — For
a second week in a row, mechanical problems have plagued
Marcos Ambrose and his No. 47 Armor All JTG Daugherty
Racing team backed by Little Debbie. At Lap 170 it was
déjà vu for the Australian
driver as he reported to his crew chief Frank Kerr
something was wrong. Ambrose came down pit road immediately,
and his pit crew determined the problem under the hood
was terminal. Ambrose was credited with finishing 35th.
“We’re not sure what went wrong,” said
Ambrose, who is currently 39th in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series points standings. “I’m just
really disappointed. We’ve got to dig ourselves
out of this hole and have some luck come our way. I’m
confident we can do it, but we’ve got to eliminate
these problems somehow first.”
“Marcos is right, and we’re not sure what
happened,” Kerr said. “It’s just
a shame because we had a good car that was capable
of easily finishing inside the top-15.”
Starting the Auto Club 500 in 26th place, Ambrose’s
racecar was tight in the middle, loose off, hitting
the ground and had no forward drive. With the race
staying green, Kerr called Ambrose to pit road on lap
38 for four tires, and air pressure and chassis adjustments.
When the No. 47 Toyota exited pit road, it was
scored in 34th place. After logging a few laps, leader
Jimmie Johnson began to reel in Ambrose. Faced with
being too tight in the center and loose off, Marcos
had his hands full as Johnson completed the pass to
place him one lap down. Fortunately, a debris caution
occurred at lap 57 for the JTG Daugherty Racing pit
crew to change four tires and make a track bar adjustment
to improve handling.
As Ambrose was preparing for the restart on lap 61
while in 33rd position, Kerr reminded him to be patient
because they were in a good position to receive the
free pass to advance onto the lead lap. The team received
the break they needed at Lap 92 when Kasey Kahne went
spinning across the front stretch.
“We had no forward drive, but all the changes
we were making were definitely in the right direction,” Ambrose
said.
After receiving four fresh Goodyear tires and a wedge
adjustment, Ambrose was back on track in 28th place
on the lead lap for the restart at Lap 97. He was running
26th at lap 126 when he keyed up his microphone again.
“It won’t turn in the middle, and it still
has no forward drive,” Ambrose said.
Green flag stops began around Lap 132 and Ambrose
was back on pit road the next time by for four tires
and adjustments.
“After those changes, it was the best it had
been,” Ambrose said. “It was a little tight
in the center, but Frankie and the guys had done a
great job of making the car better. We were making
some great progress.”
Kerr and the JTG Daugherty Racing pit crew had another
opportunity to make the car even better and help Ambrose
at Lap 142 under caution. After four tires and a track
bar adjustment, he was 25th.
At Lap 154 just beyond the restart, Ambrose reported
that something was not right because his water temperatures
seemed to really fluctuate. He was running 19th at
the time. Less than 20 laps later, Ambrose’s
day came to an abrupt halt with problems under the
hood.
“I know we will bounce back from this,” Ambrose
said. “We’ll put this race behind us and
move on to Las Vegas." Contributed by
Jennifer Chapple, JTG Daugherty Racing
Auto Club 500 Results:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jeff Burton
4. Mark Martin
5. Joey Logano
6. Kurt Busch
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Tony Stewart
10. Greg Biffle
35. Marcos Ambrose
Next Race — Shelby
American:
Where: Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Fontana, California
Time: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Network: FOX Television - 3 p.m. / MRN Radio -
2 p.m.
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