NASCAR: Marcos Ambrose wins at Watkins Glen
WATKINS GLEN, New York - Australian Marcos Ambrose won the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International in a two-lap dash to the finish Monday for his first victory in NASCAR's top series.
Ambrose beat Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch on a green-white-checkered finish to atone for a slip-up a year ago on the road course at Sonoma, California, when he stalled his car under caution while leading with six laps to go and ended up sixth.
"It's a dream come true," said Ambrose, who drives the No. 9 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. "I've tried for 2½ years."
It was the Australian's first win in 105 Sprint Cup starts. It was also Ford's first victory on a road course since Geoff Bodine won in Watkins Glen in 1996.
Ambrose signed a multiyear deal with struggling RPM a year ago to drive the No. 9 this season. That capped a tumultuous summer in which he opted to leave the No. 47 at JTG Daugherty Racing with one year left on his contract, even though he knew he was taking a big risk in difficult economic times.
"There were days, weeks when I was anxious," Ambrose said. "There were times I was sitting around the boardroom table and there was nobody else there. But you've got to roll the dice sometimes."
Busch, trying to win for a second time from the pole at Watkins Glen, led the field to the green flag for the final two laps. But Keselowski, racing with a broken left ankle and trying for his second straight win and third of the season, drove from third to the lead entering the first turn with Ambrose following.
"Those guys didn't care to give me any room," Busch said. "There's only one corner you've got to make, and as soon as you make it through that corner and can keep everybody behind, it's smooth sailing from there."
Ambrose then closed on Keselowski in the chicane and passed him for the lead before the final lap.
"I wanted to win," said Keselowski. "We had a shot at it, and that's all you can ask as a driver."
The race ended with a caution as David Reutimann and David Ragan crashed entering the second turn, with Ragan slamming head-on into the guard rail and Reutimann's car bouncing hard off the barrier and sliding upside down across the track.
Busch finished third, and Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, AJ Allmendinger, Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson.
Kurt Busch, who won at Sonoma in June, crashed early and finished 38th. He wasn't alone: Denny Hamlin also crashed and ended up 36th; five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart, running up front all race, was taken out on the final lap in the chicane and finished 27th; and Paul Menard wrecked on the 86th lap and finished 32nd.
Ambrose used a conservative pit strategy all day despite threatening weather — the race was postponed by rain Sunday and more was in the forecast on Monday. He passed Truex for third on turn one of lap 73 and moved up to the bumper of Keselowski. He then outbraked Keselowski going into the 90-degree first turn on lap 76 and set his sights on Busch.
Ambrose moved within three car lengths on lap 80 as the two encountered lapped traffic and closed to Busch's back bumper in the chicane with eight laps to go.
Menard then blew out a tire and crashed on lap 86, bringing out the final caution. That set up the frantic dash to the finish of what turned into a 92-lap race and spoiled the day for Kyle Busch, who had led much of the race.
"The last couple of laps I was getting away from him," Busch said. "The last thing I wanted to see was a caution — knew it was going to come down to one corner and I messed up."