Australia’s Marcos Ambrose has won his second-straight NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen.
In an incredible finish Ambrose went from third to victory beating doors with Brad Keselowski as they took the chequered flag.
Heading into the final lap Kyle Busch had the lead, but was struggling on a slick track from oil dropped by Bobby Labonte’s car. Busch spun after contact from Keselowski and this allowed Ambrose back into the fight over the remainder of the lap.
With fluid still on the track, Ambrose and Keselowski traded places and even ran wide ahead of the final turn. Ambrose held his nerve and took his Ford through to victory.
Ambrose, Keselowski and Busch had the dominant cars in the race on the road course in New York state. Of the 90 laps in the Finger Lakes 335, Ambrose led only eight laps, but most importantly the one which counted.
Using a three stop strategy, Ambrose drove flat-out thoughout the entire race. During pit stop sequences he fell back as far as 24th, but each time put himself back in contention. In the final 10 laps the Tasmanian grabbed second from Keselowski, but with his tyres spent, he slipped back to third after running wide on the oil two laps from the end. The race then came alive with just a lap to run as Busch’s three second lead quickly evaporated as both Keselowski and Ambrose pounced providing the grandstand finish.
Of the five starts at Watkins Glen Ambrose now has two wins and has a worst finish of third.
After the race Ambrose dedicated the victory to his father Ross who has been dealing with ill health.
“Last year was relief – this year it’s pure joy,” said Ambrose.
“A big shout-out to dad, he’s been in hospital all week and I wish I was there with you. I hope this makes you feel better.
“It was great racing with Kyle and Brad and that’s the way racing should be.
“We burnt everything up at the end as our strategy was to do three stops. You just have to take lady luck when it strikes and it was our day.
“I was the first one to slip on the oil and that’s when Brad got past. It was just getting worse and worse, and you could just tell as the car was moving all over the race track. You have to take your chances and you have to commit at that point of the race.”
The victory puts Ambrose in with a chance to make the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Cup. The top-10 drivers all qualify, plus the next best two drivers based on wins and points. If Ambrose can score another win in the next four races he could be one of the wildcards.
Here is coverage of the amazing finish
2012 Unofficial Race Results : Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen – Race 22 of 36
|
FIN |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | Stanley | 47/1 | 90 | Running |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Miller Lite | 43/1 | 90 | Running |
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Lowe’s Cortez Silver | 41/0 | 90 | Running |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 5-hour Energy | 40/0 | 90 | Running |
| 5 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Shell / Pennzoil | 0 | 90 | Running |
| 6 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 3M | 38/0 | 90 | Running |
| 7 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | M&M’s | 39/2 | 90 | Running |
| 8 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | 36/0 | 90 | Running |
| 9 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | Furniture Row / Farm American | 35/0 | 90 | Running |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | NAPA Auto Parts | 34/0 | 90 | Running |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | 33/0 | 90 | Running |
| 12 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Menards / Rheem | 32/0 | 90 | Running |
| 13 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | Farmers Insurance | 31/0 | 90 | Running |
| 14 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 31/1 | 90 | Running |
| 15 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 29/0 | 90 | Running |
| 16 | Casey Mears | Ford | GEICO | 28/0 | 90 | Running |
| 17 | Scott Speed | Ford | TWD | 27/0 | 90 | Running |
| 18 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Smithfield | 26/0 | 90 | Running |
| 19 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Mobil 1 | 25/0 | 90 | Running |
| 20 | David Gilliland | Ford | ModSpace | 24/0 | 90 | Running |
| 21 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Drive to End Hunger | 23/0 | 90 | Running |
| 22 | David Ragan | Ford | Scorpion Coatings / Al’s Liners | 22/0 | 90 | Running |
| 23 | Landon Cassill | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 21/0 | 90 | Running |
| 24 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota | Burger King / Dr Pepper | 20/0 | 90 | Running |
| 25 | Boris Said | Ford | HendrickCars.com | 19/0 | 90 | Running |
| 26 | Stephen Leicht * | Chevrolet | Little Joes Autos.com | 18/0 | 90 | Running |
| 27 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota | Miller Welders / Freightliner | 17/0 | 90 | Running |
| 28 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | National Guard / Diet Mountain Dew | 16/0 | 90 | Running |
| 29 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | Genny Light / AM-FM Energy | 0 | 88 | Running |
| 30 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 14/0 | 84 | Running |
| 31 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | Phoenix Construction Services | 13/0 | 81 | Running |
| 32 | Joey Logano | Toyota | The Home Depot | 12/0 | 71 | Running |
| 33 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | Target | 12/1 | 63 | In Pit |
| 34 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Freight | 10/0 | 57 | Out of Race |
| 35 | Jason Leffler | Toyota | America Israel Racing | 0 | 42 | Out of Race |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 8/0 | 41 | In Pit |
| 37 | Michael McDowell | Ford | TRAQM.com | 7/0 | 30 | In Pit |
| 38 | Josh Wise * | Ford | MDS Transport | 6/0 | 25 | Out of Race |
| 39 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | McDonald’s | 5/0 | 24 | In Pit |
| 40 | J.J. Yeley | Chevrolet | Tommy Baldwin Racing | 4/0 | 15 | In Pit |
| 41 | Chris Cook | Toyota | Plinker Tactical | 3/0 | 5 | In Pit |
| 42 | Patrick Long | Toyota | Inception Motorsports | 2/0 | 2 | In Pit |
| 43 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | My Classic Garage | 1/0 | 0 | Out of Race |
* Denotes Rookie
2012 Unofficial Driver Standings: Race 22 of 36
|
RANK |
+/- |
DRIVER |
POINTS |
BEHIND |
STARTS |
POLES |
WINS |
TOP 5 |
TOP 10 |
| 1 | +3 | Jimmie Johnson | 777 | Leader | 22 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 16 |
| 2 | +1 | Greg Biffle | 776 | -1 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
| 3 | -1 | Matt Kenseth | 775 | -2 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 14 |
| 4 | -3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 760 | -17 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 15 |
| 5 | +2 | Brad Keselowski | 733 | -44 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 12 |
| 6 | -1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 728 | -49 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| 7 | +3 | Clint Bowyer | 719 | -58 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| 8 | -2 | Tony Stewart | 716 | -61 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| 9 | — | Kevin Harvick | 710 | -67 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | -2 | Denny Hamlin | 693 | -84 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | — | Kasey Kahne | 653 | -124 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | — | Carl Edwards | 650 | -127 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 13 | +1 | Ryan Newman | 644 | -133 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 14 | +1 | Kyle Busch | 638 | -139 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 15 | -2 | Jeff Gordon | 634 | -143 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 16 | — | Paul Menard | 629 | -148 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 | +1 | Marcos Ambrose | 600 | -177 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 18 | -1 | Joey Logano | 587 | -190 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 19 | +1 | Jeff Burton | 541 | -236 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 20 | -1 | Jamie McMurray | 541 | -236 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | +1 | Aric Almirola | 524 | -253 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 | -1 | Juan Montoya | 512 | -265 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 23 | +1 | Regan Smith | 473 | -304 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | -1 | Bobby Labonte | 461 | -316 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | — | Kurt Busch | 422 | -355 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | — | Mark Martin | 406 | -371 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 27 | +1 | Casey Mears | 405 | -372 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | -1 | AJ Allmendinger | 400 | -377 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | — | David Ragan | 376 | -401 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 30 | — | David Gilliland | 375 | -402 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | — | Travis Kvapil | 344 | -433 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | — | Landon Cassill | 332 | -445 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | +1 | Dave Blaney | 284 | -493 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | -1 | David Reutimann | 283 | -494 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | — | David Stremme | 155 | -622 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | — | Brian Vickers | 136 | -641 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | — | J.J. Yeley | 135 | -642 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | +1 | Michael McDowell | 101 | -676 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | -1 | Ken Schrader | 100 | -677 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | — | Josh Wise* | 97 | -680 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | +2 | Stephen Leicht* | 85 | -692 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | -1 | Michael Waltrip | 75 | -702 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | +3 | Scott Speed | 69 | -708 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | -2 | Tony Raines | 67 | -710 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | -1 | Terry Labonte | 66 | -711 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | -1 | Brendan Gaughan | 50 | -727 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | — | Scott Riggs | 35 | -742 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | — | Boris Said | 34 | -743 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | — | Bill Elliott | 14 | -763 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | — | Hermie Sadler | 13 | -764 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | — | Robby Gordon | 11 | -766 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | — | Tomy Drissi | 6 | -771 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | — | Stacy Compton | 5 | -772 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | +2 | Chris Cook | 5 | -772 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | -1 | Mike Skinner | 5 | -772 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | -1 | David Mayhew | 4 | -773 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 57 | — | Kelly Bires | 2 | -775 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | — | Patrick Long | 2 | -775 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | — | Sam Hornish Jr. | 0 | -777 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 60 | -2 | Trevor Bayne | 0 | -777 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 61 | -1 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | -1 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -777 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | -1 | Austin Dillon | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 64 | — | Elliott Sadler | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | -2 | Robert Richardson Jr. | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | -1 | Reed Sorenson | 0 | -777 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | -1 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -777 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 68 | -1 | Danica Patrick | 0 | -777 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | — | Jason White | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | -2 | T.J. Bell | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | — | Jason Leffler | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | -2 | Cole Whitt | 0 | -777 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 73 | -2 | Timmy Hill | 0 | -777 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | -1 | Brian Simo | 0 | -777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 75 | -3 | Tim Andrews | 0 | -777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 76 | -2 | Jeff Green | 0 | -777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 77 | -2 | Mike Wallace | 0 | -777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 78 | -2 | Kenny Wallace | 0 | -777 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Denotes Rookie
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