Marcos Ambrose Hoping Twisted Tea Leads to First Career Victory on an Oval
This weekend, Marcos Ambrose will debut a brand new sponsor on the hood of his No. 9 Ford – Twisted Tea.
“It’s pretty exciting to bring a new sponsor into the sport,” Ambrose expressed. “Twisted Tea has been around since the early 2000’s, so they’re a fairly new brand and it’s just great to have them at the Sprint Cup level. We’ve got them here as the naming right sponsor for the 600 and also the second race at Dover, so we’ve announced earlier that they’re an associate sponsor for the entire year, but to get a car naming rights is a big step forward for them and we hope to run well in the 600 for Twisted Tea. They’re bringing a lot of folks out here to check us out, so I hope we run well.”
So far, Ambrose is off to a good start as he qualified ninth during Thursday night’s qualifying session.
“The car is pretty good. The track is hot and slick,” Ambrose commented. “Charlotte in the afternoon when it’s hot like this is normally pretty nasty and the track was fairly treacherous out there and didn’t have a lot of grip. The cars are very aggressive with the setups we run these days, they seem to be pretty stiff and jumpy, and when the track has lost grip like it has in the heat of the day they’re always tough to hang on to, but we’re OK.”
Ambrose hasn’t had the best success at Charlotte with only three top-10 finishes, but that hasn’t fazed his approval on the length of the race.
“I like the length,” he commented. “I like the fact that it is different and the endurance factor certainly comes into play for the 600, so I like it. I don’t think we need to change it. We used to have a couple other big mileage races back in the day. This is the last one standing and I think it’s a bit of NASCAR history that should remain.”
With the race starting in the day and going into night, Ambrose’s approach matches one of an endurance race – survive the day, race for the marbles under the lights.
“I think that’s really the mindset going in is that you don’t overreact to the heat of the day,” Ambrose said. “We were lucky enough to run well last week in the All-Star prelim and that allowed us to really get a feel for what our package is gonna be for the 600 when the night comes, and we’re gonna just tweak on that setup a little bit and not really think too much about what it’s feeling like out there right now.”
A victory for Ambrose could be huge at this time, as his contract is currently up at Richard Petty Motorsports. Still, with that said, the focus remains on improving the team.
“I have to renew my contract with them, but I’m gonna do whatever I can to get Richard Petty where he wants to go and his whole company,” he expressed.
Kyle Busch on the Pole for the History 300
Concord, NC – (May 24, 2014) Kyle Busch continues his domination of the NASCAR Nationwide Series by scoring the pole for the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch turned in a lap of 183.094 mph to secure the top spot. Saturday’s pole was the 38th career pole for Busch, and his second of the season with the other coming at Darlington.
Busch will be driving the No. 54 Monster Energy Drink Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He shares that ride with other drivers throughout the season, most notable of which is, Sam Hornish, who drove it to victory lane last week at Iowa Speedway. Busch has two wins and eight top-10’s in just eight starts this season.
Brad Keselowski will start second on Saturday, with Kyle Larson, Dylan Kwasniewski and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top five.
Other notables:
Series points leader, Chase Elliott, led final practice and turned in a lap of 179.892 mph and will start ninth. Elliott Sadler qualified in the tenth position. Rookie contender, Ty Dillon, will take the green in eleventh.
The green flag falls on the History 300 at 2:45 local time.
Bowyer’s Keys to Success at Charlotte – Good Balance and Communication
In his first 13 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Clint Bowyer only posted three top-10s as the majority of his finishes fell in the 20s or 30s. However, then October 2012 happened, and since then, things have changed. Since then, Bowyer’s worst finish is 13th.
“I don’t know why since that victory it gave us a boost of confidence and we’ve seemed to run a lot better,” Bowyer commented. “This was a terrible track for me — I hated this place. I’m pretty fond of it anymore and my car is pretty fast today. It was fast last weekend as well. I’m looking forward to the 600 — long race and a lot of things have to go right for a long time. There is no way of getting around that. Nonetheless, pretty sporty so far.”
While he has grown to become fond of the racetrack, the 600-mile mark isn’t something that pleases Bowyer as he says there’s no reason for a race to be this long.
“It’s a selling feature to have something longer than the rest — the biggest, baddest, longest race of the year — the most grueling,” Bowyer commented. “I understand the catch of having one race a year be drastically longer than the others, but that 400-mile race seems to be on these mile-and-a-half tracks a good number.”
Regardless, it’s a magic number that the teams have to work with and Bowyer did a good job last year as he finished eighth. The secret to success? Easy – work on your car throughout practice and make sure that it has a good balance.
“Not one way or another, just a good, solid balance and making decent grip in my race car and if you do that it will be good at night too,” Bowyer explained. “Certainly, we see it every year — teams that really take off during the day and struggle at night and vice versa. It’s definitely real — something that you have to be conscious of and make sure that you’re keeping up with the race track. If you’re really good during the daytime, you better be looking over your shoulder and be anticipating a challenge ahead.”
Bowyer was right under the lights at the Sprint Showdown as he won the event to qualify into the All-Star race. Bowyer says the key to success with his team as they got the car working right due to good communication.
“Communication is so important and you can’t underestimate that,” Bowyer commented. “You can get lackadaisical — especially with our team so when you’ve been together for awhile and you have a lot of fun and it was time to pull the reins back and make sure that we’re taking care of business. Last week we were fast in practice and backed up in that qualifying race, backed up to the All-Star Race and we were definitely a lot better than we’ve been all the way through the day.”
If Bowyer can once again follow the same keys, look for the No. 15 Toyota to be fast on Sunday night and perhaps find more success at Charlotte.
OSCAAR: Rob Poole posts top-10 in return to Super Late Model Competition
After not being behind the wheel of an OSCAAR Super Late Model for 10 months, Rob Poole won both of his heat races and posted a seventh place finish at Sunset Speedway despite a late race spin.
Poole was running seventh at lap 31 when he’d loop the No. 45 Visser Farms “Pick Your Own” Strawberries, R&W Equipment Ltd, AGNAV, Alliston Auto Sales & Leasing, R.A. Electrical, Progressive Waste Solutions, Essa Rd Chiropractic Health Centre, ERA Tours, Central Industrial Supply, Reliable Waste Management, Multi-Tech Machining & Welding and Triple Crown Auto Super Late around, having to restart at the back of the field. Poole then carefully worked his way up through the traffic to get back to the seventh spot before the checkered flag.
The success is also no surprise as Poole impressed in his rookie season of competition in 2012 with a couple top-fives, before setting on pole for the end of the year event – the Autumn Colors Classic. Based on that, Poole headed into his sophomore season with high hopes of a first career win and contending for the championship.
The early season top five runs heightened the hype, though the wheels would fall off before the season truly got going. An engine failure at the Don Biederman Memorial in June ended up sidelining him for the rest of the season due to no funding for a new motor.
With Poole returning this year and starting off the season with a solid run, the hopes are high once again as with a little bit of work, Poole may be the next driver to find victory lane for the first time. The past Thunder Car Champion has a good chance of either scoring the victory at either Sunset Speedway or Barrie Speedway, simply due to experience. However, sometimes you never know as it could happen anywhere.
For now, the focus shifts to Kawartha Speedway, a track in which Poole has never ran before Poole missed the event in his rookie season due to work and as a result, had NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver Mark Dilley behind the wheel. Poole’s success will depend on how quickly he adapts to the oval and picks up where drivers have in the past. It isn’t strange for first-timers to be successful there, as Andrew Gresel proved that last year with a dominating win in his rookie year.
For those who missed the Sunset Speedway event – or even if you attended, be sure to watch the video below of the feature race as shot from the No. 45 Roof Cam.
Trevor Bayne To Compete Full-Time In NASCAR Sprint Sup Series In 2015, Full Driver Line-Up Still In Flux
Concord, NC – (May, 24, 2014) – It was announced on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, that Trevor Bayne will compete full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015. Bayne will drive the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford for Roush-Fenway Racing (RFR).
This announcement signifies the return of the No. 6 to full-time competition for Roush-Fenway. It was the number of RFR’s first entry in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition in 1988, with driver Mark Martin, who assisted in the announcement Saturday via video in the media center. Martin drove to 35 wins in the No. 6 during his years with RFR.
Bayne, who currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for RFR and part-time on the Sprint Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing, commented about today’s announcement saying, “I’m both excited and humbled to be a part of bringing the No. 6 back to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.” He continued with comments about the primary sponsor, “And to be able to make that move with AdvoCare makes it that much more special. They are a true partner that aligns with my foundation and core values in every way.”
Team owner, Jack Roush, was also on hand for the announcement. When asked about the significance of the No. 6, Roush replied, “It’s been a goal of the organization to put the No. 6 back out there on track in the Sprint Cup Series and I’m pleased to have AdvoCare behind us as we make the move with Trevor to full-time Cup racing.”
The addition of Bayne to the full-time Sprint Cup line-up for 2015 also triggered questions about the rest of the RFR drivers. Rumors have been swirling around the garage area over the past several weeks regarding Carl Edwards. Edwards’ contract is up for renewal, and in similar fashion to the last renewal date, Edwards is the topic of many in the sport.
In a, not so subtle attempt to ask about Edwards without asking about Edwards, one reporter ask if this announcement means the team is a expanding to four cars or is somebody not going to be with the team next year. Roush replied, “Our plans for 2015 are still in a state of flux. Certainly the fact we’ve taken the No. 6 indicates that we have our plans open for a fourth car, but it’s still in a state of flux. We’ll have more to announce on that later.”
Currently, one of the strongest rumors in the garage area are that Edwards may go to Joe Gibbs Racing and join his former RFR teammate, Matt Kenseth. Kenseth left the organization at the end of the 2012 season and had arguably his best season on record in 2013. Though he did not win the championship, he did compile seven wins, and 20 top-10 finishes leading to a second place finish in the final standings.
Given the team’s recent lackluster performance, today’s announcement with Bayne indicates that the future is still strong for the team, regardless of Edwards’ status. The question remains however – can they provide their drivers with the equipment they need to compete for the wins and championships.
