Truex Finishes Third at SOBO Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (May 30, 2009) – Brett Moffitt already broke one of Joey Logano’s NASCAR Camping World Series records. It didn’t take him long to take care of another.

Moffitt became the youngest winner in NASCAR Camping World Series history Saturday night with his win in the South Boston 150 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway. His Andy Santerre Motorsports' No. 44 brettmoffitt.com Chevrolet led 81 laps – including the last 67 – and outpaced a pair of fellow teenagers in runner-up Ryan Gifford and third-place Ryan Truex.

Moffitt doesn’t turn 17 until August 7. Joey Logano, now driving the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, was 1 month, 5 days of turning 17 when he scored his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Series West, and he set the NASCAR Camping World Series East mark 11 days later with his win at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway. In the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Series East opener, Moffitt broke Logano’s record as the series’ youngest Coors Light Pole Award winner.

With Saturday’s win, Moffitt also secured a starting spot in the postseason NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

Moffitt and Truex traded the lead three times. Moffitt pulled away on the final lap 103 restart and won by 3.691 seconds. Truex, the 19-year-old younger brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. and a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver, won his first career Coors Light Pole Award earlier in the day.

Gifford, 19, is driving a limited schedule for Richard Childress Racing. He started 10th and charged up through the field. He got to second when Truex got loose coming off Turn 4, but was unable to close the gap on Moffitt.

Point leader Jody Lavender finished fourth and maintained a 26-point lead on Moffitt. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Max Gresham, making his first series start, finished fifth.

Alan Tardiff, Sean Caisse, Ty Dillon, Eddie MacDonald and Dustin Delaney rounded out the top 10.

Truex Captures MWR's 2nd Pole of the Weekend at SOBO Speedway

SOUTH BOSTON, Va. -- Ryan Truex was the second car out for NASCAR Camping World Series East qualifying at South Boston (Va.) Speedway and then had to sweat out watching the rest of the field take time before he could celebrate his first career Coors Light Pole Award.

Truex turned a fast lap of 16.176 seconds (89.021 mph) in his No. 00 NAPA Toyota at the .400-mile oval for Saturday night's South Boston 150. The 17-year-old younger brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr. became the third driver in as many years to earn their first career pole at South Boston - following Peyton Sellers (2007) and Ricky Carmichael (2008).

Truex's closest challenger was Brett Moffitt in the No. 44 brettmoffitt.com Chevrolet, who came within two one-thousandths of a second with a lap of 16.178 (89.010).

Sean Caisse, making a spot start in the No. 03 RCR Driver Development Chevrolet, qualified third at 16.258 (88.572). Jonathan Smith was the last car to qualify and grabbed the fourth spot, bumping 2007 race winner Matt Kobyluck to fifth.

Series points leader Jody Lavender will start 11th.

The South Boston 150 is scheduled to take the green at 7 p.m.

NAPA Toyota Catches Fire After Engine Failure at Darlington

Waltrip Relegated to 40th-Place Finish and Drops to 28th in Championship Standings

DARLINGTON, S.C. – The “Track Too Tough to Tame”, Darlington Raceway, lived up to its reputation on Saturday night. A record breaking 17 caution flags were thrown for incidents including the No. 55 NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota Camry. Just 74 laps into the 500-mile event, NAPA driver Michael Waltrip experienced a catastrophic engine failure. A rod broke piercing the oil pan and causing the No. 55 Toyota Camry to burst into flames. Waltrip quickly brought his car to a stop and climbed out safely. The early end to the night caused the NAPA team to finish 40th place and unfortunately, drop to 28th in the championship points standings.

“The engine just blew up,” said Waltrip who qualified his No. 55 NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads in 36th position during Friday’s Coors Light qualifying session. “I had a spin earlier in the race and in order for that to cause damage to the engine, you have to kill the engine and turn it over backwards. I kept the motor running the whole time and went on. It didn’t have anything to do with that. Luckily, I had Adaptive One Brake Pads. When the car caught on fire, I got on those brakes and brought it right to a stop – safe and sound.

“When a car catches fire, it’s tense at first. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know if the flames are going to engulf the car or if they are going to blow out. When you are going straight, the flames are streaming behind you. If you turn backwards, they come toward you. I was working it and trying to keep going in the right direction knowing it could get bad. Luckily, it was just a flash fire. It went out and I was fine.”

Matt Kenseth brought the 43-car field to the green flag. It was not long until Waltrip informed his team that his car was extremely hard to drive. It was very loose and the two-time Daytona 500 champion was doing everything he could not to spin out. But on lap 21, the NAPA Adaptive One Toyota Camry spun in Turn 4 without getting significantly damaged. Under caution, the pit crew went to work to tighten up the car. Crew chief Bootie Barker called for wedge and track bar changes. Waltrip returned to the track, one lap down, in 41st position.

It took just seven laps for the wrath of the Lady in Black to strike again. This time Casey Mears clipped Brian Vickers. The cars of Denny Hamlin and AJ Allmendinger also were damaged in the altercation. The caution flag was thrown and Waltrip was awarded his lap back. Barker used the opportunity to improve the Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota as it was still extremely loose. Spring rubber and more track bar changes were made. Waltrip returned to the track in 36th place and Ryan Newman was the new leader when the green flag waved on lap 37. Waltrip’s lap times improved during the run enabling him to pick up five positions on the track. He was posted in 31st place at the time his engine expired.

Winning the Southern 500 was Mark Martin. It was his second win of the season. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Newman, Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth.

Overall, Michael Waltrip Racing had a tough night at Darlington. Besides Waltrip’s engine failure, David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose also experienced trials and tribulations as they both made hard contact with the wall. Reutimann suffered a 29th-place finish and Ambrose finished 33rd.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will hold its annual Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Broadcast coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on SPEED with the running of the Sprint Showdown. Then the All-Star Race kicks off shortly after 9 p.m. ET. It also can be heard on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Ambrose Overcomes Late Race Incident to Post Top-15 Finish at Richmond

Marcos Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing team scored their fifth top 15 with an 11th-place finish Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. The team rebounded after Ambrose had substantial damage to No. 47 Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota from being shoved into the outside retaining wall with 94 laps remaining. "Not sure what happened there, but Sam Hornish got into us and then we were in the wall," Ambrose said. "We had a lot of damage to the rear end, but the crew worked on it and didn't give up. Thankfully we were able to stay on the lead lap and have a good finish."

The swift recovery by the JTG-Daugherty Racing team kept Ambrose 19th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner points standings and closer to the top 12 cut off for The Chase. The team is now 120 points out of 12th heading into Darlington Raceway this weekend. On Saturday, rain earlier in the day had NASCAR hustling to dry the .75-mile oval before the start of the 400-lap race. The event started as planned, but the first six laps were led by Brian Vickers under caution because the track was still damp. As NASCAR turned the 43-car field loose on Lap 7, Ambrose started from 21st position and was inside the top 20 by Lap 19 running lap times the same as leader Brian Vickers. “We were loose off,” Ambrose said.

By Lap 69, Ambrose was turning laps faster than leader Jeff Gordon. With his sights set on the top 10, the Australian driver marched into the top 15 at Lap 87. Ten laps later under green he was on pit road for four tires, fuel and adjustments. When a caution occurred at Lap 114, Ambrose was in 11th place when he drove back onto pit road. “The Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota was a little tight, but it was good other than that at the time,” Ambrose said. “It didn’t seem like it was getting full power until the start finish line though.” Following the team changing four tires and making more adjustments, Ambrose restarted 11th on Lap 121. A moment later, Ambrose communicated to crew chief Frank Kerr that he was loose off the corners. As he maintained his top 15 run the car’s handling worsened. The over-the-wall crew took another stab at it on Lap 151 under caution.

Less than 20 laps later, the yellow flag waved again. Kerr and Ambrose wanted to try something different so the crew put on only two tires and made adjustments. On Lap 183, the pit crew was hoping for a caution because Ambrose had no grip. Ambrose slid outside the top 15 eight laps later. The JTG-Daugherty team caught a break and Ambrose returned to pit road at Lap 192. He restarted 15th five laps later, but his car continued to have handling issues. Even though his car was a handful, Ambrose was back inside the top 15. “We were tight in the middle and loose off,” Ambrose said as he entered pit road on lap 213 under caution.

Following a track bar adjustment, pulling a quarter rubber out and four tires, the No. 47 Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota team was scored in 17th place. As the car did not respond to the changes positively, Kerr had the team put the track bar back where it was, put a rubber in the left rear and make a small air pressure adjustment on Lap 274. “The No. 47 Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota was a handful,” Ambrose said. “We would get a handle on it and then we would lose it.”

On Lap 285, the team elected to stay out when the caution flag waved again. “We were really tight through the middle and loose off,” Ambrose said. “We had only run five green flag laps,” Kerr said. “So, we stayed out there.” Shown in 13th place as the field took the green, Ambrose went back to work and was focused on capturing his third top ten of the season. On Lap 306, his efforts were derailed as the No. 26 car of Jamie McMurray and the No. 77 car of Sam Hornish Jr. slid up the track. The contact made to the No. 47 Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota by the No. 77 car sent Ambrose spinning into the outside retaining wall in Turn 2.

There was substantial damage to the rear end of the No. 47 Bush’s Best® Baked Beans Toyota. Ambrose came in on Lap 308, 309 and 311 for tires, repairs and fuel. As Ambrose was leaving pit road on Lap 312, the field took the green. Fortunately, the caution flag was displayed immediately as Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin was involved in an incident. Ambrose was back on pit road. After all the adjustments and repairs were made, the 32-year-old restarted 21st on Lap 317. An accident involving Jimmie Johnson, David Stremme and Kasey Kahne on Lap 325 allowed the team to put on four tires and make another track bar adjustment under caution. “It was loose in and tight in the middle,” Ambrose said. “The crew did a great job of repairing the car and they didn’t give up. They just kept working at it.”

With 50 laps to go, Ambrose settled into the top 15. The JTG-Daugherty team had one last chance to work on the car at Lap 358 under caution. “We did what we could to repair the car and we told Marcos to do what he could and that we were not coming back in,” Kerr said. “Marcos did an amazing job. He almost had another top 10 finish. This time with a car that was wrecked. He’s impressive.” Ambrose almost captured his third top 10 of the season by crossing the finish line in 11th-place. Kyle Busch won the event, Tony Stewart finished second, Jeff Burton finished third, Ryan Newman finished fourth and Mark Martin rounded out the top five.

After a two-day Goodyear tire test on Monday and Tuesday, Marcos Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty team travel to Darlington Raceway for race number 11 on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit. Live coverage of the Southern 500 on Saturday, May 9th begins at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and 6:30 p.m. ET on MRN Radio. The event will also air on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Waltrip Finishes 24th in Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway

NAPA AUTO PARTS Driver Remains 24th in Championship Points Standings

RICHMOND, Va. -- NAPA driver Michael Waltrip rallied back from being one lap down to finish on the lead lap and in 24th position in Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Waltrip, driving the Adaptive One Brake Pads paint scheme for his sponsor, battled an ill-handling car during the first half of the race, but by the halfway mark, his car was a top-10 contender. Waltrip’s seventh top-25 finish of the season keeps him 24th place in the championship standings – just 213 points out of 12th and just 75 markers out of 20th.

“All I wanted to do was run a mistake-free race,” said Waltrip who started the Crown Royal 400 in 30th position. “I did that. I just wish my Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota would have handled better at the end. It pretty much went to pieces as it had no forward bite. It was a top-10 car in my opinion and it’s a shame we couldn’t have gotten that result.”

“Michael drove hard and drove fast,” said crew chief Bootie Barker at the end of the race. “We only had scuffed tires for him to run at the end so he did a heck of a job out there with what we could give him.”

A damp track forced the 43-car field to start the race under caution, but just six circuits later, polesitter Brian Vickers led the field to the green flag. However, it took only two laps for the first caution flag to be thrown as Dave Blaney spun out in Turn 4. Waltrip came over the radio to tell Barker that his car was loose off the corners and not down into the track. Barker put his pit crew to work to make an air pressure change to tighten up the car. Waltrip returned to the track in 41st position.

The next 100 laps saw Waltrip running outside the top-25 and one lap down to the leader Jeff Gordon. Despite the challenge in track position, Waltrip’s lap times in the NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota were consistently improving. By the time the third caution flag was thrown on lap 115 for an accident involving Jeremy Mayfield, Barker told his driver he had gained a lot of speed during the last run so more air pressure changes were made. Waltrip went back out in 31st position and Clint Bowyer was the new leader when the green flag was thrown on lap 121.

“We started way far off on the set up in the beginning of the race,” said Waltrip. “But the car was getting much better. Bootie was making good calls on the adjustments.”

Kasey Kahne would bring out the next caution on lap 149 when he spun out on the frontstretch. As before, Waltrip’s car was picking up the pace, but was still loose off the corners. This time, Barker added a wedge adjustment along with air pressure changes. The pit crew completed the stop in 14.2 seconds allowing the Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota to pick up two positions on the track. The race was back up to full speed on lap 155 with Virginia-native Denny Hamlin in the top spot.

Waltrip’s teammates David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose were running up in the top 15 and the NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads Toyota was running the same lap times. All Waltrip needed was to get in contention for the Lucky Dog-free pass and that’s exactly what was happening as the race continued on. By lap 300, Ryan Newman was the new leader and Waltrip was racing David Ragan for the free pass. The only challenge for Waltrip was on restarts. It took the NAPA Toyota about 10 laps to get up to speed so Regan was the beneficiary as the next caution came out just seven circuits later when Waltrip’s teammate Ambrose had an accident after Sam Hornish Jr made contact with him. Ambrose’s car was damaged in the rear, but was still able to continue on and remain on the lead lap. Barker opted to keep Waltrip out in favor of track position. When the race returned to green conditions on lap 312, Gordon was once again the leader and Waltrip was scored in 24th position and in line for the free pass. Barker’s call was the right one as Mark Martin, Newman and Martin Truex Jr. got tangled just one lap later.

Waltrip showed his emotions as he cheered over the radio as he was back in the game. This time the NAPA Adaptive One Toyota was brought in for service for just four fresh tires and fuel. The two-time Daytona 500 champion went back out in 22nd place and kept his forward momentum going as he picked up four positions on the track by the time the 13th caution was thrown after Bobby Labonte made contact with David Stremme. The incident also collected Jimmie Johnson and Kahne. Waltrip used the opportunity to come back in for four fresh tires. The race went green on lap 335 with the NAPA Adaptive One Toyota in 16th position.

During this next run, the handling on the NAPA Adaptive One Toyota was once again loose off the corners. Barker felt the track was changing as the night went on but believed Waltrip was better off staying out on the track in favor of the track position. Plus, the large number of caution flags had teams on pit road, including the No. 55, searching for a set of fresh Goodyear tires. Waltrip did the best he could as his car was a handful. The NAPA driver held on as he saw his driver Reutimann and Vickers run into problems in Turn 2. The incident brought out a caution on lap 357. Barker chose to bring his driver in for air pressure and a spring rubber change. The team bolted on four scuffed tires and returned to the track in 24th position. The lack of four, fresh sticker tires appeared to have hampered Waltrip’s attempt to pick up positions on the track. He had to settle for a 24th-place finish.

Meanwhile, Kyle Busch claimed his third victory of 2009 and the Richmond weekend sweep on his 24th birthday. Busch is the first driver since Cale Yarborough to win a Cup race on his birthday. The night before, Busch claimed the Nationwide Series event.

Waltrip’s teammate Ambrose didn’t let his accident on the track faze him as he finished in 11th place. Reutimann didn’t have the same luck as he had a disappointing 28th-place result which dropped him to 13th position in the championship standings.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series once again goes Saturday night racing. This time the Cup boys head to the track “Too Tough to Tame” – Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. Broadcast coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET on FOX. It also can be heard on MRN and Sirius XM Satellite radio networks.

Ambrose Scores Top-5 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 27, 2009) – Marcos Ambrose avoided a spectacular crash on the final lap of the Aaron’s 499 to finish fourth in his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday afternoon. Ambrose’s first top-five finish of the season catapulted his JTG-Daugherty Racing team seven positions in the owner point standings to 19th-place.

“We had a really good points day and everyone did an awesome job,” Ambrose said. “But, man that was a wild finish and it was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen coming across the finish line looking at a car (Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Aflac entry) upside down like that. We fortunately escaped and were able to bring home our first top-five finish this year. I made three good choices today to get up there and we were able to capitalize in the end.”

Ambrose scored his second-career top five finish during the dramatic final lap. Approaching the finish line, Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Claritin entry launched into air and hit the fence after contact was made with Brad Keselowski -- who had pushed him to the front to take the lead from Ryan Newman.

“I’m just glad everyone is alright,” Ambrose said. “This is crazy racing, it really is. It’s insanity on four wheels.”

Indeed things happen quickly at the 2.66-mile tri-oval and as Ambrose started the 188-lap race from 34th-place he received a notice only seven laps later. Contact made between Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon’s cars set off a synchronized spinning of several others. Luckily, Ambrose was able to escape the mêlée and not hit anything.

“We didn’t hit anyone, but we spun out trying not to,” Ambrose said.

Crew chief Frank Kerr radioed the team to have everything ready in case there was damage to the No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota. Ambrose thought the splitter was bent somewhat after he spun.

“I was trying to avoid the wreck,” Ambrose said. “It was a comedy act really, but we were okay.”

The JTG-Daugherty Racing crew went to work on the Little Debbie® Toyota on Lap 9 to change four tires, add fuel and make sure the car was in good shape. Ambrose restarted 11th five laps later. On Lap 20, he drifted back and awaited his next pit stop that came at Lap 30 for four fresh tires and a chassis adjustment.

He took the green flag again at Lap 34 and was in 16th-place. Riding around comfortably, Ambrose was just waiting for the right time to make his charge to the front. On Lap 42, Ambrose did a great job of keeping control of his car as Michael Waltrip’s No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota slid across his nose and went spinning around in the tri-oval.

“They stacked up in front of me and I thought I had room, but I drove across my teammate’s hood,” Michael Waltrip said after the incident.

Ambrose came in for the team to check for damage on Lap 43. They changed right-side tires and made a small repair. Ambrose returned to the track in 21st place for the restart.

On Lap 61 under caution, Ambrose was back on pit road for right-side tires again and a chassis adjustment. He was then in ninth place coming to the green four laps later.

Martin Truex Jr. showed the way and by Lap 67 Ambrose was in the top five running fifth. Six laps later, Ambrose found himself tightly packed in the middle and shuffled back to 19th the next lap.

His next yellow flag pit stop at Lap 85 gave the team a chance to make sure Ambrose’s fenders were not bent and they also changed four tires. Restarting 18th at Lap 88, Ambrose hung out in the top 20.

Another caution at Lap 123 allowed the JTG-Daugherty team to change four tires. On Ambrose's next stop under caution at Lap 147, Kerr called for two tires only. The No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota restarted 15th.

Things started to heat up inside 20 laps to go. Leading since Lap 154, Kyle Busch spun in Turn 4 on Lap 171 after Jeff Burton’s car made contact with his. Ambrose was sixth on the restart at Lap 175 with Matt Kenseth shown as the new leader, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in second, Jeff Burton in third, Kurt Busch in fourth and Joey Logano in fifth. With nine laps to go and everyone tightly packed together, the ninth caution of the race occurred and several cars were knocked out of contention (No. 1,7,11,12,41,42,48,55,77,96).

As the field restarted with four laps remaining, Ambrose was seventh with Ryan Newman leading the field. As Newman was down on the bottom, the two cars of Edwards and Keselowski blew by him up top. The final lap was shocking as Edwards broke loose when contact was made between him in Keselowski in front of Ambrose. Edwards' car went airborne while trying to block Keselowski from his first career win. Keselowski won the event, Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Newman was collected in Edwards crash, but still finished third. Ambrose was able to escape unscathed and almost match his career-best finish (third-place at Watkins Glen International) with his fourth-place effort.

“He’s the real deal,” Kerr said. “He did a great job today. He was patient and was there at the end. We had a great points day. It was good to see him do so well with our sponsors at Talladega to see it firsthand.”

Next up for Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing is Richmond International Raceway. Live coverage on Saturday, May 2nd begins at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and 6:45 p.m. ET on MRN Radio. The event will also air on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Ambrose Scores a Top-15 Finish at PIR

AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 19, 2009) – On Saturday night, Marcos Ambrose crossed the finish line 14th with his No. 47 Clorox® Toyota Camry in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. It was his third top 15 finish and fifth top 20 finish in eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts this season.

Ambrose advanced two positions to 26th in the driver championship standings and is currently 169 markers out of 12th place occupied by Matt Kenseth. Jeff Gordon leads the standings with Jimmie Johnson in second, Kurt Busch in third, Tony Stewart in fourth and Denny Hamlin rounds out the top five.

“It felt good running in the top 10 in only my second time at Phoenix in a Cup car and we were able to pick up a couple spots in the points standings,” Ambrose said. “The points are still pretty close and we’re not far outside the top 12. That feels pretty good for us.”

On Friday, Ambrose was the first of 48 drivers to attempt to qualify for the 312-lap event at the one-mile desert oval. After turning a lap of 27.190 seconds, he started 29th among the 43 car field. Mark Martin won the pole (26.903 seconds).

At the start of the race on Saturday, the No. 47 Clorox® Toyota Camry was loose in and off and tight in the middle. Under the first caution of the race, the JTG-Daugherty Racing team took their first stab at adjusting the problem on Lap 55. They changed four tires and pulled a quarter sprint rubber out of the left rear. “The Clorox® Camry was loose in, pushing the nose, had no forward bite and the left front was real high,” Ambrose said. “I couldn’t keep the left front down.”

Ambrose restarted in 20th-place on Lap 59. The pit crew had another opportunity to improve handling at Lap 102. They worked on the car for a second time under caution. “It had no forward bite and was chattering the right front and loose off,” Ambrose said.

The Australian driver went back to work at Lap 108 in 23rd place and returned to the top 20 eight laps later. After more adjustments on Lap 139 under caution, Ambrose was still battling being loose in and loose off and tight in the middle. He was back on pit road on Lap 152 under caution. The team changed two tires and inserted a spring rubber in the right rear to try to tighten up the No. 47 Clorox® Toyota Camry on entry and exit. They were still trying to get the left corner down.

The field took the green again on Lap 155 and Ambrose was occupying 24th place. The frontrunners pitted under the next caution at Lap 167, but the No. 88 entry of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ambrose stayed out on the track. The call to stay out by crew chief Frank Kerr positioned Ambrose in second place.

The next eight laps, Ambrose stayed in second. On Lap 177, 14-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner Kyle Busch was on the inside of his Clorox® Camry, but Ambrose was able to hold on to the spot for another lap. As Busch finally passed Ambrose, he brought four-time Cup champion and points leader Jeff Gordon along with him. Ambrose was then fourth on Lap 179 and Tony Stewart (who finished second) was in his mirror with fresher tires.

Finally, on Lap 183 Stewart made the pass. With older tires, Ambrose slid out of the top five the next lap and his car was loose off and tight in the middle. Even though Ambrose fell back to eighth ten laps later, he was running lap times as same as Earnhardt Jr., who maintained the lead.

Kerr called Ambrose to pit road under green at Lap 231 for four tires and a chassis adjustment. Once everyone pitted, Ambrose was back to his top 10 run and climbed to seventh on Lap 246. Ten laps later, Ambrose radioed to his team that the Clorox® Camry had lost grip. With the car having no grip, Ambrose fought to stay inside the top 10. On Lap 273, Martin Truex Jr. battled Ambrose for tenth and made the pass.

At Lap 299, Kerr communicated to Ambrose that they did not have enough fuel to go to the end.
“We were going to have to splash and go,” Kerr said.

Ambrose was running 15th and it appeared that he was going to have to pit under green and give up his track position in the next lap or two. Luckily for the JTG-Daugherty Racing team, the yellow flag waved at Lap 300 for an accident involving Casey Mears and Earnhardt Jr. The team came in for fuel and also changed two tires and made a wedge adjustment on the Clorox® Camry. The field restarted on Lap 306 and in the next six laps Ambrose maintained a top 15 run to go on to finish 14th.

Next week, Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing team head to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 499. Live coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on FOX and 1:15 p.m. ET on MRN Radio. The event will also air on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.