RICHMOND, Va. (April 29, 2009) – Fresh off a fourth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, Marcos Ambrose and his JTG-Daugherty Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team feel like a win may be just around the corner.
“We thought at the beginning of the season that we would have a shot to win at a road course, but now we feel like we have a shot to win before we even get to a road course,” said crew chief Frank Kerr. “We keep getting better and unfortunately the points are not indicative of just how well we have been running. If it hadn’t been for a few mechanical failures, we would be in the top 10.”
Entering Richmond International Raceway (RIR) with Bush’s Best® Baked Beans as a primary sponsor on the No. 47 Toyota for the first time, the team is only 144 points out of tenth place in the owner championship standings. With their recent top-five finish on Sunday, they jumped seven positions to 19th.
“We have Bush’s Best® Baked Beans on the car for the first time at Richmond and we want to perform well for them and keep the momentum going,” Ambrose said.
Even though he has 1,001 laps in a NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) entry with JTG-Daugherty Racing at Richmond, it is still déjà vu for Ambrose tackling yet another track where he has no Cup experience. However, having no Cup experience at places like Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway seemingly did not matter for Ambrose. He has been fast every time the team has unloaded regardless of his experience level. In nine starts this season, Ambrose has one top-five, two-top 10 and six top-20 finishes -- keeping in mind he had a few mechanical problems along the way.
“We’ve surprised ourselves and we are doing really well,” said Ambrose, who has two top-15 NNS finishes with JTG-Daugherty Racing at RIR. “We’re just going to keep doing what we have been doing and go to Richmond to race without expectations. The team is keeping an open mind.”
Ambrose, Kerr and the entire JTG-Daugherty Racing team have been very receptive to new ideas and sharing information with the two Michael Waltrip Racing teams and the alliance has proved to be beneficial.
“David (Reutimann) led the most laps in the fall at Richmond and we looked at what the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry did there last year,” said Kerr, who is bringing a brand new car (labeled 622) for Ambrose to race. “We feel like we can also be a contender. I was worried about places like Bristol, Martinsville and even Phoenix (International Raceway), but we excelled. We have found some new things for Richmond that will help all of us and we are really looking forward to this weekend and also having Bush's Best® on board with us.”
Live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on Saturday, May 2nd begins at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and 6:45 p.m. ET on MRN Radio at Richmond International Raceway. The event will also air on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
“We thought at the beginning of the season that we would have a shot to win at a road course, but now we feel like we have a shot to win before we even get to a road course,” said crew chief Frank Kerr. “We keep getting better and unfortunately the points are not indicative of just how well we have been running. If it hadn’t been for a few mechanical failures, we would be in the top 10.”
Entering Richmond International Raceway (RIR) with Bush’s Best® Baked Beans as a primary sponsor on the No. 47 Toyota for the first time, the team is only 144 points out of tenth place in the owner championship standings. With their recent top-five finish on Sunday, they jumped seven positions to 19th.
“We have Bush’s Best® Baked Beans on the car for the first time at Richmond and we want to perform well for them and keep the momentum going,” Ambrose said.
Even though he has 1,001 laps in a NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) entry with JTG-Daugherty Racing at Richmond, it is still déjà vu for Ambrose tackling yet another track where he has no Cup experience. However, having no Cup experience at places like Daytona International Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway seemingly did not matter for Ambrose. He has been fast every time the team has unloaded regardless of his experience level. In nine starts this season, Ambrose has one top-five, two-top 10 and six top-20 finishes -- keeping in mind he had a few mechanical problems along the way.
“We’ve surprised ourselves and we are doing really well,” said Ambrose, who has two top-15 NNS finishes with JTG-Daugherty Racing at RIR. “We’re just going to keep doing what we have been doing and go to Richmond to race without expectations. The team is keeping an open mind.”
Ambrose, Kerr and the entire JTG-Daugherty Racing team have been very receptive to new ideas and sharing information with the two Michael Waltrip Racing teams and the alliance has proved to be beneficial.
“David (Reutimann) led the most laps in the fall at Richmond and we looked at what the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry did there last year,” said Kerr, who is bringing a brand new car (labeled 622) for Ambrose to race. “We feel like we can also be a contender. I was worried about places like Bristol, Martinsville and even Phoenix (International Raceway), but we excelled. We have found some new things for Richmond that will help all of us and we are really looking forward to this weekend and also having Bush's Best® on board with us.”
Live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on Saturday, May 2nd begins at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and 6:45 p.m. ET on MRN Radio at Richmond International Raceway. The event will also air on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
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