Ambrose Hopes to Show Dominance at Michigan This Weekend
DEWALT Team Holds Track Record, Shows Speed in Irish Hills
CONCORD, N.C. (August 13, 2013) – Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 DEWALT Ford team expect to show the same dominance at Michigan this weekend as they did last week at Watkins Glen International. As the track record holder, Ambrose and team have always proven to have speed at the two-mile oval.
In his past 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at the Irish Hills track, Ambrose has posted one top-five and two top-10 finishes. He also has one pole and holds the track record, all recorded last season.
Ambrose will also be pulling “double duty” this weekend, racing the STANLEY Ford in the Nationwide Series event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday.
Comments from DEWALT Ford Fusion Driver Marcos Ambrose:
“Last season, we showed a lot of speed and got the track record here at Michigan. We came for the first time with the Gen-6 car in June, and we learned a lot. Our team has worked hard on our overall intermediate track program for the Gen-6 car, and I feel that we’ve run a lot better. Indianapolis, Pocono and Watkins Glen we raced up front or in the top-10. We just want to keep that speed and bring it to Michigan.
“Despite being only two months apart, the track acts differently between the two races, so we’ll use practice on Friday to get a good gauge on what will or will not work for setups. This is a race track where you need to carry a lot of momentum and keep the car up to speed. Practice sessions here are really important.
“I just think we’ve shown speed, have had some good runs and just outside top-10 finishes weekly if we don’t have any major problems. I think we can get a top-10 or a top-five pretty easily this weekend if everything falls into place.”
Comments from Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on Michigan:
“Michigan is a very fast, wide-open track. We have improved our program with the Gen-6 car over the past few months. We are bringing a different chassis, and hopefully we can take it and get a good finish. We finished top-15 at Kentucky and Pocono and showed a lot of speed at Indy. So I think we can do the same here this weekend and capitalize to get a good finish.”
Chassis History:
The No. 9 team prepared chassis No. 840 for Sunday’s race. The team last competed with the chassis at Kansas Speedway in April.
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.