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Ambrose Draws 14th for Sprint Showdown

16 May 2009

Marcos Ambrose will start from 14th position in his Sprint Showdown debut at Lowe’s Motor Speedway after qualifying was rained out in Charlotte, North Carolina today.

Qualifying for the Sprint Showdown was rained out today at the 1.5-mile speedway, with the starting line-up determined by the random draw for the qualifying order.

The first and second placed cars in the Sprint Showdown will progress through to the Sprint All-Star race that follows, as well as one driver who is voted in via fan voting online and via SMS.

You can vote for Marcos Ambrose now online at: http://www.nascar.com/promos/allstar/

While it will be Ambrose’s firs Sprint Cup race – albeit a non-points event – at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the Australian did participate in a Goodyear tyre test at Lowe’s in March.

Sprint Showdown and Sprint All-Star Format

Entry into the Sprint All-Star is afforded to:

• Race-winning drivers from the previous and current Cup Series seasons.
• Cup Series champions from the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one series event during the previous or current season.
• Past winners of the All-Star Race.
• Two drivers who qualify for the premier event by finishing first and second, respectively, in the Showdown (formerly the Open).
• One driver who joins the All-Star Race field by winning the Fan Vote.

The All-Star Race's format:

• Segment 1 — 50 laps with a mandatory green-flag pit stop on Lap 25 at which time teams must pit and take four tires. Following the end of Segment 1, the caution flag will be displayed for an optional pit stop.
• Segment 2 — 20 laps with the caution flag displayed at the end of the segment for an optional pit stop.
• Segment 3 — 20 laps with a 10-minute break at the end of the segment. Teams may make normal adjustments to their cars during this break. The finishing order after the third segment determines the final starting positions for the final segment.
• Segment 4 — 10-lap shootout with only green-flag laps counting.

Note: The Pit Crew Challenge is directly linked to the All-Star Race, as the finishing order in the Pit Crew Challenge decides the selection order of pit stalls for the All-Star Race.

Ambrose’s #47 JTG Daugherty Racing pit crew was knocked out in the first round of the Pit Crew Challenge by the #1 crew from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

What Marcos Has to Say

“It would really mean something to me to get into the main race because I have a special affinity to Lowe’s Motor Speedway,” said Ambrose.

“It’s the first 1.5-mile track I ran (NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2006) in my NASCAR career. However, I don’t know what to expect because it will be my first time in that type of format.

“Frankie (crew chief Frank Kerr) and the JTG-Daugherty Racing team are bringing our best piece to try and make the race. I have to race my way in because I haven’t been in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series long enough to get voted in. That’s the way you want to do it - - race your way in.”

“We will try aggressively to get to the front because only the top two spots transfer.

“If anything, this is a great way for me to gain experience for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte next weekend.

“I’ve never raced in a Cup car at Lowe’s and the Goodyear tyre test really helped me get some laps there.

“We feel good about this weekend and next. Last weekend at Darlington Raceway, I didn’t feel good about that place. I always thought Darlington was going to be a problem race for me and I just didn’t think I was going to finish.

“Being the prophet that I am, I didn’t finish very well and ended up 33rd. Now, I’m really pumped for the rest of the season as we get to some of these standard 1.5-mile tracks that I like.”

 

More Information

Driver Profile

www.marcosambrose.com

Follow Marcos Ambrose on Twitter at twitter.com/MarcosAmbrose

 

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