Whether it proof of Marcos Ambrose's road-racing skills or merely revenge for a lost opportunity at Sonoma in June, there’s no doubt the Australian was the man to beat at Watkins Glen on Saturday.
Only no one could lay a hand on the Australian NASCAR transplant.
In winning at “The Glen,” Ambrose became only the second driver to win three-straight, in the Nationwide Series, on the former Formula One circuit. Terry Labonte did it previously (1994-96).
The victory was, ironically, bittersweet for Ambrose who announced he’s leaving at the end of the year.
“This win this year was probably our most dominant and I’m just really proud. We’ve been through a tough patch here at JTG. It hasn’t been the year we all wanted. It’s just great to get ‘em to victory lane to make it feel right,” said Ambrose who led 60 laps of the 90 lap race.
Joey Logano held off Kevin Harvick at the end for second place. Harvick recovered from a pit lane penalty and avoided a multi-car collision early in the race.
I was pretty pumped out about how the car ran today," Logano said. "Road courses and me never got along before. It's cool to see yourself improve every time you get to a place like this."
Jason Leffler went off the track, tried to get back on, on lap 24, starting a 10-car wreck which also resulted in a 26-minute red-flag stoppage.
Ron Fellows was the highest finishing Canadian, in sixth, in the JRM Chevrolet, followed by Jacques Villeneuve in eighth, and JR Fitzpatrick in 11th.
“We ran into some brake problems right from the beginning of the race,” Jacques Villeneuve said after the race.
“I had to pump the brakes on the straightaways. So I could not push as hard as I had would liked. The car remained pretty loose all race long, and I had some trouble controlling the rear end and putting the power down when exiting the corners.”
Nelson Piquet Jr. son of the former World Champion, Nelson Piquet, finished seventh.
Carl Edwards’ engine problems ended a bad-luck day. With his 33rd place finish he fell to 327 points behind series leader, Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth.
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| photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com |
Only no one could lay a hand on the Australian NASCAR transplant.
In winning at “The Glen,” Ambrose became only the second driver to win three-straight, in the Nationwide Series, on the former Formula One circuit. Terry Labonte did it previously (1994-96).
The victory was, ironically, bittersweet for Ambrose who announced he’s leaving at the end of the year.
“This win this year was probably our most dominant and I’m just really proud. We’ve been through a tough patch here at JTG. It hasn’t been the year we all wanted. It’s just great to get ‘em to victory lane to make it feel right,” said Ambrose who led 60 laps of the 90 lap race.
Joey Logano held off Kevin Harvick at the end for second place. Harvick recovered from a pit lane penalty and avoided a multi-car collision early in the race.
I was pretty pumped out about how the car ran today," Logano said. "Road courses and me never got along before. It's cool to see yourself improve every time you get to a place like this."
Jason Leffler went off the track, tried to get back on, on lap 24, starting a 10-car wreck which also resulted in a 26-minute red-flag stoppage.
Ron Fellows was the highest finishing Canadian, in sixth, in the JRM Chevrolet, followed by Jacques Villeneuve in eighth, and JR Fitzpatrick in 11th.
 |
| Jacques Villeneuve (photo: Philippe Champoux/Auto123.com) |
“We ran into some brake problems right from the beginning of the race,” Jacques Villeneuve said after the race.
“I had to pump the brakes on the straightaways. So I could not push as hard as I had would liked. The car remained pretty loose all race long, and I had some trouble controlling the rear end and putting the power down when exiting the corners.”
Nelson Piquet Jr. son of the former World Champion, Nelson Piquet, finished seventh.
Carl Edwards’ engine problems ended a bad-luck day. With his 33rd place finish he fell to 327 points behind series leader, Brad Keselowski, who finished fourth.
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