AMBROSE SHOWS GOOD SPEED IN FIRST 500 MILE RACE IN CALIFORNIA

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Marcos Ambrose has finished his first 500-mile race while showing strong pace on his way to 32nd place in the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California today.

Ambrose showed good form in his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at=the 2.0-mile speedway, running competitively with some of the best known names in the sport in the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion of Wood Brothers Racing.

The Australian started from 40th position and ran near the tail of the=pack in the opening stages of the race. Ambrose gradually moved forward in the first part of the race, making changes at each pit stop to combat a very loose race car.

As the hot California sun set and the track cooled, the condition of t=e Little Debbie Ford moved from loose to tight, but changes made by Ambrose and crew chief David Hyder greatly improved the pace of the car, setting up Ambrose for a strong second half of the race.

Ambrose, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday on Monday, was as high a= 28th and continuing to move forward despite a tight race car and on track to earn Wood Brothers Racing it's sixth top 30 finish of the 2008 Sprint Cup season.

With 33 laps remaining, Ambrose ran wide and brushed the wall through =urns 3 and 4.

The contact with the SAFER Barrier brought out a caution to clear the =ebree and Ambrose brought the #21 to pit lane twice, first to pit for four tyres and fuel and then again to check that the right-hand side guards were not rubbing on the tyres.

The additional stop dropped Ambrose 10 spots to 38th, but such was the=pace of the Little Debbie machine, Ambrose moved back through the field, passing the likes of Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, Mike Skinner and Michael Waltrip as he jumped back up the order.

While regaining ground on the leaderboard among the cars also one lap =own, Ambrose passed many cars on the lead lap such as four-time Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ambrose ended the race in 32nd place and one lap down, pleased with th= improvement of the Wood Brothers Ford over the course of the weekend. Ambrose and Wood Brothers Racing earned US$105,595 in today's race, which carried a total prize pool of US $6,165,509.

Defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson won today's Pepsi 500 a=ead of Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin.

Ambrose will concentrate on Nationwide Series duties in the #59 Kingsf=rd Ford Fusion of JTG Daugherty Racing next weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

His next Sprint Cup event will come at Dover International Speedway in=the #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion of Wood Brothers Racing.

QUOTES - MARCOS AMBROSE

‘I've finished my first 500 mile race and it was definitely a long=race out there,’ said Ambrose.

‘We raced well out there and that's all you can ask for. We impr=ved so much from start to finish. It began to tighten up quite a lot as the sun went down but that was expected.

‘We came a long way over the course of the three days here and I thi=k we've got a clear direction moving forward. There were some changes and decisions we made that really got it going out there and I'm pleased for the entire Wood Brothers team.

‘I was out there passing guys like Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, those =ort of Chase drivers in the second half of the race. We were a lap down in the second half of the race but our car speed really gave me confidence.

‘I had a touch with the wall through (Turns) Three and Four there to=ards the end but it wasn't too bad. It dropped us back down the order and in the end if probably cost us a bunch of positions. But the pace was there and we past a lot of cars back and that's pleasing.

‘It's great to finish one of these Cup deals on this sort of big, =ast track. The confidence I gained and the things we learned are really invaluable moving forward.’

Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway
Race 25 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson 250 laps
2. #16 Greg Biffle
3. #11 Denny Hamlin
4. #29 Kevin Harvick
5. #17 Matt Kenseth
6. #99 Carl Edwards
7. #18 Kyle Busch
8. #9 Kasey Kahne
9. #44 David Reutimann
10. #07 Clint Bowyer
…
29. #22 Dave Blaney 249 laps
30. #8 Aric Almirola
31. #77 Sam Hornish Jr
32. #21 Marcos Ambrose
33. #55 Michael Waltrip
34. #19 Elliot Sadler
35. #00 Mike Skinner

RESULTS: Sprint Cup Qualifying
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson 39.912
2. #84 AJ Allmendinger 40.076
3. #24 Jeff Gordon 40.097
4. #9 Kasey Kahne 40.188
5. #10 Patrick Carpentier 40.255
6. #19 Elliott Sadler 40.338
7. #1 Martin Truex Jr 40.351
8. #22 Dave Blaney 40.363
9. #2 Kurt Busch 40.412
10. #8 Aric Almriola 40.419
40. #21 Marcos Ambrose 41.099

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings ˜ After Race 25
1. Kyle Busch 3755
2. Carl Edwards 3547
3. Jimmie Johnson 3386
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr 3323
5. Jeff Burton 3234
6. Greg Biffle 3159
7. Kevin Harvick 3132
8. Tony Stewart 3110
9. Matt Kenseth 3081
10. Jeff Gordon 3074
…
48. Ken Schrader 438 (after 7 races)
49. Marcos Ambrose 400 (after 5 races)
50. Dale Jarrett 367 (after 5 races)

Marcos Ambrose's remaining 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Schedu=e:
September 21 - Dover International Speedway; Dover, Delaware (#21 Wood=Brothers Racing)
September 28 - Kansas Speedway; Kansas City, Kansas (#47 JTG Daugherty=Racing)
October 26 - Atlanta Motor Speedway; Hampton, Georgia (#47 JTG Daugher=y Racing)
November 2 - Texas Motor Speedway; Fort Worth, Texas (#21 Wood Brother= Racing)
November 9 - Phoenix International Raceway; Phoenix, Arizona (#21 Wood=Brothers Racing)
November 16 - Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, Florida (#47 JTG Da=gherty Racing)


2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Standings ˜ After Race 27 of 35
1. Clint Bowyer 3913
2. Brad Keselowski 3709
3. Carl Edwards 3691
4. David Reutimann 3503
5. Mike Bliss 3474
6. David Ragan 3428
7. Kyle Busch 3344
8. Mike Wallace 3136
9. Jason Leffler 3129
10. Marcos Ambrose 3082

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Prizemoney after 27 races:
Marcos Ambrose: US$868,326

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Prizemoney after 5 races:
Marcos Ambrose: US$573,017

ABOUT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY
formerly California Speedway
Location: Fontana, California
Track Length: 2.0 miles
Race Distance: 150 laps Nationwide / 250 laps Sprint Cup
Degree of Banking in Turns: 14 degrees

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RECORD BOOK
Defending Nationwide Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Defending Nationwide Polesitter: Kurt Busch
(Earlier this year, Carl Edwards won, Jimmie Johnson pole)
Marcos Ambrose ˜ Sprint Cup debut at Auto Club Speedway

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES RECORD BOOK
Defending Nationwide Race Winner: Jeff Burton
Defending Nationwide Polesitter: Denny Hamlin
Marcos Ambrose 2007 Race Finish: 13th
Marcos Ambrose 2007 Qualifying: 16th
(Earlier this year, Ambrose qualified 22nd, finished 18th) .