Richard Petty Motorsports Tums Fast Relief 500 Race Report

Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Black & Decker Ford

Starting Position: 33

Finishing Position: 24

Starting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway from 33rd, Marcos Ambrose quickly gained several spots in the opening laps of the race and was running in the 28^th position on Lap 4.

As the first green-flag run of the day went on, the No. 9 machine began to slip back several positions and Ambrose relayed to crew chief Mike Ford that the Black & Decker Ford was tight. A caution on Lap 46 allowed Ambrose to come down pit road for four tires, fuel, and trackbar and air pressure adjustments to help correct the car’s handling condition. Shortly after making his initial pit stop, Ambrose relayed to Ford and the team that the handling had slightly improved. Restarting in 27^th, Ambrose maintained his position until the yellow flag flew again on Lap 151 for a car spinning in Turn 1.

With track position being key at Martinsville, Ford elected not to bring his driver down pit road under caution. By virtue of staying out Ambrose gained 12 positions and restarted in 15^th on Lap 155. Unfortunately, the strategy did not go as planned, as the race remained under green for the next 50 laps. Having worn tires, Ambrose was unable to hold off the hard-charging cars on fresh Goodyears behind him. He ultimately went a lap down to the leader after falling back to the 27^th position on Lap 185.

Lacking grip, Ambrose brought out the fifth caution of the day as his Black & Decker Ford spun going into Turn 1. Luckily the No. 9 Ford suffered no damage in the incident and Ambrose was able to pit for four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment on Lap 201.

Just a few short laps later Ambrose again went for a spin, this time after the No. 51 car of A.J. Allmendinger made contact with his left rear, causing a flat tire. After bringing his car down pit road for another set of fresh tires and fuel on Lap 214, Ambrose lined up in the 31^st position, the first car a lap down.

Restarting in the “Lucky Dog” position, Ambrose fought hard to gain his lap back, but another long green-flag run allowed the leader to put several other cars a lap down, knocking the No. 9 out of the free-pass position. As the laps wore on, Ambrose relayed to the team that he was lacking rear grip and needed more forward drive off of the corners. Struggling with an ill-handling race car, Ambrose had fallen three laps down to the leader by Lap 340 and was scored in 31st.

Ford knew that pit strategy would be the only way for his driver to make up any ground on the field, so when the caution flag flew on Lap 393 he told Ambrose to stay out and take the “wave around.” By virtue of not pitting Ambrose was scored in 29th only two laps down. Another yellow flag on Lap 440 allowed for the same strategy and Ambrose restarted in 27^th one lap behind.

With fewer than 50 laps remaining in the 500-lap race, more pit strategy coupled with Ambrose’s hard-charging drive and determination allowed the Australian driver to pick up three additional positions to cross the stripe in the 24^th position.

Ambrose sits in 18^th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points standing heading to Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday.

Ambrose’s Comments after Martinsville:

“We got a lap down early and just couldn’t seem to make up any ground until those last 100 laps. We struggled with the handling of our Black & Decker Ford all afternoon and that put us in a bad spot.

“My guys never gave up and Mike (Ford) made some good calls with pit strategy there at the end to help us gain some positions. It was a tough weekend all around, but we’ll put it behind us and head to Texas with high hopes. Texas is typically a track we run really well at, so hopefully we can bring home a good finish this weekend.”

Aric Almirola, No. 43 Gwaltney Ford

Starting Position: 10

Finishing Position: 4

After things looked bleak to start Sunday’s 500-lap event at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the No. 43 Gwaltney Ford team and driver Aric Almirola dug deep and came away with a fourth-place finish. The result is their best finish this season and ties Almirola’s career best in the Sprint Cup Series.

When the green flag flew to start the “Chase” race, Almirola moved up to ninth, but was then unable to hold his position. By Lap 35, he had fallen back to 14th and was silent on the radio until the first caution waved on Lap 46. Almirola came on the radio and told crew chief Todd Parrott that his car was not handling well. He asked for major changes and to “take a big swing” at the chassis. Over the course of the race, Parrott and the No. 43 crew did just that.

The race featured 10 more caution periods, and through that time, Parrott called Almirola in each time for changes to make the car handle better. Chassis changes included spring, track bar, shock adjustments and more.

As the team made the changes, Almirola had to race hard to stay on the lead lap. By Lap 100, he had fallen back to 26th on the track. Battling his car, Almirola had no better luck in the next 100 laps. Although he was unable to crack back into the top-20, he did manage to stay on the lead lap. The race to the 300-lap mark proved critical for the team’s eventual finish.

With the team making the car better, Almirola kept finding a way to pick off cars and advance on the leader board. He moved into the top-20, but did lose one lap to the leaders. As the race settled in for a long run, teams had to come down pit road for fuel. Almirola was able to stretch his fuel and raced up to third before pitting under green.

Almirola returned to the track in 19th, one lap down. But, on Lap 393 the caution came out allowing the No. 43 Gwaltney Ford team to take the “wave around” to get back on the lead lap. This proved to be a major turning point for the team. Once racing with the leaders, Almirola asked for no more changes to the car, saying it was the best it had been all day. This also allowed Parrott to use normal pit strategy to help Almirola gain track position.

In the final 100 laps, Almirola just raced past his competition and moved up to 14th. During a late-race caution, Almirola came down pit road and Parrot called for a two-tire stop. With that decision proving to be a great call, Almirola restarted seventh and raced to fourth at the end of day.

The finish is the best for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville Speedway. Almirola stays 21st in points heading into Texas.

Comments from Almirola after Martinsville:

“That was a good run for us. Todd Parrott made a gutsy call there. We were horrible at the beginning of this race and I mean horrible. I don’t know how we didn’t go several laps down, but we fought hard all day. We fought for every position. We made all kinds of adjustments on this Ford Fusion all day and Todd Parrott made a great call there to take two tires at the end to get us some track position and it took off. I was really surprised at how fast it went on two tires, so I’m proud of everybody on this Gwaltney Ford Fusion. They worked really hard and we deserved this one.”

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.

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