Is Now Anxious to Return, Improve
CONCORD, N.C. (October 22, 2013) – This weekend, Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 DEWALT team return to the .526-mile Martinsville (Va.) Speedway where in April the team scored its first top-10 of the year.
Ambrose qualified second before finishing eighth. The result was the best finish for Ambrose at the track in his career.
Petty machines have a history of great success at the Virginia short track including 19 wins. “The King” Richard Petty has 15 wins to lead all drivers.
Comments from DEWALT Ford Fusion Driver Marcos Ambrose:
“We had a really strong race at Martinsville in April, and we’d really like to have the same efforts this weekend. It was our first top-10 of the season, and we had a really strong car all day. It was the best start and finish I have ever had at the track, and it’s made me anxious to get back and run well again.
“Drew does a really good job on short tracks with the setup and the race strategy. He puts me in good position, and that’s important over 500 laps. It’s a long afternoon, and Martinsville is pretty tough. You have to be around at the end of the race and have a good car then too. We did that in April, and it paid off. We want to do that again.”
Comments from Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on Martinsville:
“I told Marcos earlier this year that we can allow for only one mistake during a race. That’s the case at Martinsville. It’s a long race, but if we have something small happen, like a mistake on pit road or a minor accident, we can overcome it. Obviously, we don’t want to have any mistakes, but we know a lot of things happen at Martinsville. You just want to be in a good position in the last 50 laps. If you are, you have a good chance of a top-10 or better.”
Chassis History:
The No. 9 team will bring chassis No. 865 at Martinsville. This chassis was previously ran at the fall Richmond and Loudon races earlier this year.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneurs Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force and STP and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partners Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
