Ambrose Finishes Up 28th at Chicagoland Speedway
JOLIET, Ill. (July 12, 2010)
After a long day, Marcos Ambrose took his No. 47 Clorox Toyota across the finish line 28th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Ambrose's teammate, David Reutimann, was the winner picking up his second career victory in the top touring division.
"We had a long night," Ambrose said. "We're glad to have an off week to recharge and get ready for the Brickyard. On a different note, I was happy to see David win. My hats off to David and his entire team. They really worked hard and deserved it."
At the start of the scheduled 267-lap event, the No. 47 Clorox Toyota Camry was loose in and off the corners from the 23rd starting position. With the car snapping loose, Ambrose was glad to see a caution come out at lap 38 so his JTG Daugherty Racing pit crew could change four Goodyear tires, put a half a round of wedge in and a quarter spring rubber in the left rear to stabilize the car.
Something happened on the pit stop and a NASCAR official called Ambrose back to pit road for a missing lug nut on the left rear. The mishap placed Ambrose back in 33rd place for the restart at lap 48 with Jimmie Johnson leading the field back to green flag racing.
At lap 52, Ambrose made another report that he was loose in and the right front was overloaded. His biggest concern was keeping the No. 47 Clorox Toyota Camry from hitting the ground and having it tightened up. On a green flag stop at lap 89, the pit crew tried to do that by raising the track bar and making a couple other adjustments.
Ambrose was running in the top-25 still battling the right front overpowering through the middle and he needed his machine to be tightened up. With a caution at lap 130, he was back on pit road for four tires, a track bar and air pressure adjustment.
Ambrose restarted 25th at lap 135 with Jamie McMurray leading the way, Jimmie Johnson in second and Jeff Gordon in third.
"We were too free and smashing the ground and tight through the center," Ambrose said. "It was overpowering the front and loose in as the race went on."
With the right front still feeling overloaded, Ambrose made his next pit stop at lap 183 for a packer in the left front, four tires, an air pressure adjustment and a half down on the track bar.
Restarting 29th at lap 188, Ambrose was back to work. It was more of the same as the No. 47 Clorox Toyota continued to be loose in, tight in the middle and loose off.
"It was spinning out," Ambrose said.
On pit road at lap 231, the crew went to work one last time. Ambrose soldiered on and when the checkered flag waved, he crossed the finish line in 28th place.
"We'll put Chicagoland in our rearview mirror because we've got a big race coming up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Ambrose said. "It's an incredible venue. I'm looking forward to having a week off and then heading to Indy."
This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has an off weekend. Next up is the Brickyard 400. Live coverage begins at 1 p.m. on ESPN and IMS.
Contact:
Jennifer Chapple
Public Relations Director
JTG Daugherty Racing
7201 Caldwell Road
Harrisburg, NC 28075
Cell Phone: (704) 507-8809
Office Phone: (704) 456-1221
Email Address: JChapple@JTGRacing.com
