AMBROSE HUNGRY FOR FIRST WIN WITH TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY NEXT UP ON THE SCHEDULE

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 27, 2009) – Entering Talladega Superspeedway, Marcos Ambrose has something to smile about. JTG-Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geshickter confirmed last weekend that his No. 47 Toyota Camry team extended its technical alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2010 and 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons.

“That’s great news that we have realigned with MWR,” Ambrose said. “It just works.”

“Being a single-car team without a strong technical alliance is next to impossible,” Geschickter told Bob Pockrass with NASCAR Scene on Saturday. “This one is working, so why fix it? Toyota’s influence and the support they give us is big. The personalities of the people involved – everyone gets along. We’ve imbedded our folks into their shop, so every meeting that goes on, we’re a part of and has made it more seamless than most.”

Ambrose believes the association has proved to be beneficial to his JTG-Daugherty Racing team.

“Tad is right,” Ambrose said. “We’ve been very successful this year and we even came close to winning a time or two. We’ve been solid in the points all season long and this was just our first year working together as a full-time Cup operation. We are really looking forward to 2010 and continuing our work with MWR. I know we’ll be relying on each other at Talladega this weekend when we are trying to get to the front.”

Ambrose recorded his first top-five finish of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway and avoided a spectacular crash on the final lap to finish fourth.

“It was the wildest finish that I have ever seen looking at a car upside down like that,” Ambrose said. “I can’t imagine what was going through Carl’s (Edwards) mind. We were fortunate to escape the incident and capitalize on a great finish for our team.

“These past few weeks have been very extreme,” continued Ambrose. “We’ve gone from scary fast Charlotte to the slowest track on the circuit back to plate racing where your grandmother can drive in qualifying. At the same time, the race itself at Talladega is tough and it’s not for everybody.”

With the season winding down and four races remaining, Ambrose is hungry for his first win in the No. 47 Kingsford® Charcoal Toyota entering the 2.66-mile tri-oval.

“For me, I want to win the race,” Ambrose said. “It’s anyone’s race and Brad Keselowski was a surprise winner in April. This weekend, how do I do that? Generally speaking, I will let everything settle down and wait for the first crash to get out of the way. About halfway, I’ll move up through the pack to make sure my car can run up in there and be able to handle jumping in and out of lines to go to the front. Then I will sit tight and wait for the last 40 laps.”

Ambrose knows not to wait too late to make his move.

“If you wait too long, everyone else is getting desperate and crazy,” Ambrose said. “You want to already be positioned somewhat maybe a pit stop and a half to go. It’s a real challenge and you’ve got to have friends out there. When you are up against two or three Hendrick Motorsports cars in a line there’s not much you can do to stop them. My tactic is to try to get to the front with 40 laps to go and try to stay there.”

On Saturday, Marcos will be on hand for DegaQ, a BBQ competition held at the Talladega Superspeedway and sponsored by Kingsford/KC Masterpiece. Marcos will sign autographs and present the award to the winning BBQ team. If you are at the track make sure you stop by, there will be plenty of great BBQ available.

Live coverage of the Amp Energy on Sunday, November 1st begins at 12 p.m. ET on ABC. MRN Radio and Sirius XM will also carry the event.