No. 9 DEWALT Ford Team Looking for Momentum at Season’s Final Short Track
CONCORD, N.C. (November 5, 2013) – Marcos Ambrose returns to the West Coast for the final short track race of the 2013 season at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Ambrose hopes to contend for the win in the No. 9 DEWALT Ford and cap off the short track races on a high note.
Ambrose has 10 Sprint Cup Series starts under his belt at Phoenix. He scored his best finish of eighth with the No. 9 team in the fall of 2011. This spring, he posted an 18th-place finish in his first short-track start in the Gen-6 car. Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer isn’t a stranger to Victory Lane at the one-mile track. He scored a win in the 2008 Nationwide event with Carl Edwards. In his 14 NASCAR starts at the track, he tallied three top-fives, four top-10s and a pole.
Comments from DEWALT Ford Fusion Driver Marcos Ambrose:
“In the spring, track position was key. We’ll work really hard to get a good starting spot for the race, so we have that advantage. With the softer tire, I think it will be easier to pass this race than in the spring, but I still think track position is very important here. That will really weigh on our decisions throughout the race.
“We’ve had some really good runs at short tracks this year and with the chassis we are bringing this weekend. Hopefully, we can use that to get a good finish this weekend and cap off our short track races with good momentum for next year.”
Comments from Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on Phoenix:
“These last two races of the season are extremely important. It really help going into the off-season with some momentum. We’ve had an up and down year and are working hard to make sure we end on the up-side. Phoenix is a tough track. Track position means a lot, but you also have to have a good handling racecar. We’ll work really hard in practice to get ourselves a good starting spot and car setup to help us during the race.”
Chassis History:
The No. 9 team will bring chassis No. 728 to Phoenix this weekend. The team ran this chassis at two races this season. Ambrose brought home the chassis best finish of eighth in the spring race at Martinsville.
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.
