CATEGORIES

• Ask ColCam
• Commercials
• Full Ford
• Going Ford
• Industry News
• My Wheels
• Racing
• Events
• Test Drive
• Ford Dealer List

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Best Result for Ambrose yet in Milwaukee

Staff, Thursday June 29, 2006.

Page 1 of 1

After qualifying ninth in his Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150, the dual Australian V8 Supercar champion battled for a position inside the top 10 in the early stages of the race.

Ambrose ran on the lead lap for almost the entire race, only to be lapped by race winner Johnny Benson with two circulations remaining.

Ambrose was the fourth rookie home at Milwaukee, finishing one place behind Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team-mate Bobby East.

The result elevated Ambrose, who missed the first three rounds by virtue of his NASCAR rookie status, two spots to 31st place in the championship standings.

Ambrose?s #20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards entry sits in 27th position in the team owner points, where the top 30 entries are assured entry to the next race in Kansas next weekend.

1995 NASCAR Busch Series champion Johnny Benson won the race after passing Ron Hornaday Jr on lap 161 of the 200 lap journey. Mike Bliss also found a way past Hornaday, stealing second with five laps remaining.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY ?

MARCOS AMBROSE ? #20 TEAM AUSTRALIA FORD F-150

?We had a good truck at times tonight and we were able to run in the top ten, or at top-ten pace at least. It?s great fun to be running with the pace-setters,? said Ambrose.

?I?m really enjoying this learning experience I?ve got myself into. I feel that I?ve got plenty to go and we?re going to close one of these deals out soon. We have put ourselves in the top 20, now we?ve got to work to get ourselves in the top ten. After that we can start thinking about getting into the top five.

?Although we?ve got a long way to go, everyone is gelling well as a team and they?re a great bunch. All these tracks are brand new to me, so you can?t expect too much to start the weekend.

?It would have been nice to finish on the lead lap, we lost it there with two laps to go though. The Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards truck was pretty evil there in the end, we were just trying to hang on.

?The flatter track here in Milwaukee felt a little bit like home, a little bit more like what I?m used to with flat track racing. This is a great race track and a great facility. A bunch of fans turned up tonight which is good to see. It?s a thrill to be racing in America, it?s a thrill to be racing in NASCAR at a place like this and I?m a happy man.

?I?m looking forward to Kansas. Every track is a new deal for us, so we don?t expect too much each week and we just go to each track to try to do our best. I?m looking forward to the next two one-and-a-half mile tracks. The team feels like we?ve got two trucks that we understand now, we feel more confident for those speedways. We feel like we can maybe run a little more aggressively.?

Marcos Ambrose Fast Facts

• Ambrose has earned $73,043 in eight starts this year
• Born in Launceston, Tasmania
• Ambrose won two consecutive V8 Supercar Series Championships in Australia in 2003 and 2004 for Ford.
• Will drive the No. 20 Ford F-150 for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in 2006

2006 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS ? After round 11
* Marcos Ambrose did not compete in the first three rounds of the championship.

1: Todd Bodine 1758; 2: David Reutiman 1632; 3: Johnny Benson 1638; 4: Ted Musgrave 1560; 5: Jack Sprague 1502; 6: Mike Bliss 1483; 7: Dennis Setzer 1463; 8: Rick Crawford 1461; 9: David Starr 1458; 10: Ron Hornaday Jr 1433; 31: Marcos Ambrose 635.

Previous Article: Ford Out for Top Spot In the Top-End
Next Article: Ford Out for Top Spot In the Top-End