Well-traveled Ambrose finally wins Montreal race

Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 Stanley Ford takes a corner during the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 20 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)by Dominic Fugere (Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
Four years ago, Marcos Ambrose came all the way from Australia. Saturday morning, he came all the way from Michigan where he is competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend. Then, in the afternoon, on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Ambrose came all the way from the back of the pack to finally win the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in the Nationwide Series.

“It has been a heck of a day that started with the Cup practice in Michigan at 10 this morning, a helicopter ride, a plane ride here, another helicopter ride, then a boat ride to finally jump in another racecar to come in and finally win this race,” said Ambrose, who had led the most laps in the first four races at Montreal but did not have a win to show for it.

Even a possible inspection issue -- NASCAR confiscated the right rear spring from the Richard Petty Motorsports car for further evaluation following the race, and it is possible, but not a certainty, the team will be penalized -- likely won't sour Ambrose’s victory.

Not only was Ambrose able to battle from the back of the field where he was forced to start because he was not able to qualify the car Friday, but he also was able to recover from a restart incident with polestitter and local favorite Jacques Villeneuve that dropped him from second to 28th with 26 laps to go.

Villeneuve looked like the class of the field, leading 29 of the first 44 laps. However, on a restart after the race’s second caution, the former Formula One champion locked up his rear wheels and went off course in the Senna hairpin. Villeneuve’s race was over as he lost two laps in the pits while the Penske Racing crew worked on his No. 22 Dodge.

“Jacques and I both dove into Turn 1, but he ran out of track, got on the grass and was unable to stop,” Ambrose said. “Unluckily for him, it ended his day, but luckily for us, we were able to keep going. So in the end, it didn’t matter.”

The victory was Ambrose’s fourth in the Nationwide Series and second NASCAR road-course victory in six days—he won his first Sprint Cup Series race Monday at Watkins Glen.

Villeneuve’s teammate at Penske Racing, IndyCar Series regular and fellow Quebecois Alex Tagliani, came in second, followed by Michael McDowell, Steve Wallace and Canadian J.R. Fitzpatrick. Rounding out the top 10 were Scott Speed, Carl Edwards, on whose plane Ambrose flew to Montreal, Justin Allgaier, Jason Leffler and Elliott Sadler.

“I think we had one of the fastest cars on the long runs, but all of those restarts were pretty tough for us,” Tagliani said.

Another local favorite, Patrick Carpentier, who announced he would retire after the race, saw his 27-year racing career come to a bitter end after contact with Steve Wallace on Lap 56 in the Casino hairpin.

“I guess Steve Wallace hasn’t learned how to brake, so he spun me at the hairpin,” Carpentier said. “After that, I just lost it, ran people over and they ran me over back. It’s one of those deals.”

“We had a couple of challenging moments where me and Carpentier were racing really hard,” Wallace said. “I got underneath him, I tried to outbrake him. He crowded me. I got loose, and I spun him out.

After the race, Carpentier’s crew chief, Jerry Baxter, took out his frustration with Wallace by reaching into Wallace’s car on pit road and pulling his hair.

“Obviously Baxter was upset. I’d be upset, too … only girls pull hair.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was able to keep the series points lead despite a 26th-place finish. He leads Sadler by eight points and Reed Sorenson by nine.

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NASCAR Nationwide Series Race Number 24
Unofficial Race Results for the 5Th Annual Napa Auto Parts 200 Presented
By Dodge - Saturday, August 20, 2011
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - Montreal, - 2.709 Mile Road
Total Race Length - 74 Laps - 200.466 Miles - Purse: $1,496,068
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 9 9 Marcos Ambrose(i) Stanley Ford 74 0 120.5 $87,550 Running 1 10
2 2 12 Alex Tagliani Hot Wheels Dodge 74 43 1 113.8 $54,975 Running 2 11
3 5 18 Michael McDowell(i) Sherwin Williams Toyota 74 0 116.4 $47,743 Running
4 7 66 Steve Wallace 5-hour Energy Toyota 74 40 94.6 $40,268 Running
5 21 67 J R Fitzpatrick Go Canada Racing Ford 74 39 89.1 $36,175 Running
6 4 33 Scott Speed Rheem Heating Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet 74 39 1 106.4 $33,143 Running 1 5
7 14 60 Carl Edwards(i) Fastenal Ford 74 0 85.1 $26,800 Running
8 10 31 Justin Allgaier Florida Gulf Safe Chevrolet 74 36 99.2 $30,543 Running
9 3 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Chevrolet 74 36 1 106.7 $30,243 Running 1 5
10 16 2 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet 74 34 81.5 $30,443 Running
11 13 5 Ron Fellows Canadian Tire Chevrolet 74 34 1 105.7 $22,225 Running 2 9
12 19 11 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Toyota 74 32 81.2 $28,418 Running
13 15 64 Jason Bowles Fuel Doctor Toyota 74 31 81.1 $21,625 Running
14 22 97 Kyle Kelley NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 74 30 81.2 $22,700 Running
15 29 19 Mike Bliss Del Monte Chevrolet 74 29 64.2 $28,968 Running
16 24 09 Kenny Wallace Toyota Toyota 74 28 66.9 $28,118 Running
17 27 01 Mike Wallace G&K Services Chevrolet 74 27 61.5 $27,793 Running
18 28 62 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Toyota 74 26 68.9 $27,443 Running
19 34 39 Luis Martinez Jr. King Taco Ford 74 25 54.4 $27,318 Running
20 20 88 Aric Almirola Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet 74 24 77.1 $27,693 Running
21 36 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 74 23 53.3 $27,368 Running
22 32 15 Timmy Hill # Rick Ware Racing Ford 74 22 59.2 $28,093 Running
23 17 16 Trevor Bayne 3M Ford 74 21 58.8 $27,443 Running
24 25 7 Danica Patrick GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 74 20 70.0 $26,968 Running
25 23 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Chevrolet 73 19 60.4 $27,518 Running
26 18 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fastenal Ford 72 18 60.6 $26,848 Engine
27 1 22 Jacques Villeneuve Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday Dodge 72 19 2 116.7 $30,093 Running 3 29
28 41 52 Louis-Philippe Dumoulin Jimmy Means Motorsports Chevrolet 72 16 40.6 $20,680 Running
29 35 40 Josh Wise Key Motorsports Chevrolet 72 15 39.7 $20,245 Running
30 39 81 Maryeve Dufault Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge 69 14 36.5 $26,978 Running
31 6 77 Robby Gordon(i) MAPEI/Menards/SPEED Energy Dodge 67 0 110.1 $20,150 Engine 1 5
32 8 99 Patrick Carpentier NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 65 12 76.2 $20,115 Accident
33 26 23 Alex Kennedy Media Master Chevrolet 64 11 53.4 $20,080 Suspension
34 31 75 Tomy Drissi(i) Alvin And The Chipmunks-Chipwrecked Ford 64 0 38.1 $20,045 Rear Gear
35 40 28 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Dodge 59 9 31.4 $26,478 Transmission
36 33 14 Eric McClure Hefty BlackOut/Reynolds Chevrolet 54 8 31.3 $19,975 Running
37 12 30 Boris Said(i) Great Clips Chevrolet 51 0 75.4 $26,393 Accident
38 38 70 Blake Koch # Daystar.com Dodge 47 6 31.7 $26,348 Electrical
39 37 51 Jeremy Clements Clements Racing Engines Chevrolet 45 5 40.9 $26,313 Rear Gear
40 43 13 DJ Kennington DrivenMale.com Dodge 28 4 34.0 $19,710 Suspension
41 11 53 Andrew Ranger Quebec Dodge Dealers Dodge 23 3 70.2 $19,625 Engine
42 42 89 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Chevrolet 5 2 29.3 $19,570 Engine
43 30 44 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 1 1 29.4 $19,392 Brakes

Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 70,000+, Marcus Ambrose won the NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge, his fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. To start the race, prior to the green flag the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #9, #75, #60, #16, #87 (driver change) #15, #81 (adjustments during impound)..

Failed to Qualify: (5) 03, 21, 41, 55, 42.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 51 Mins, 46 Secs. Average Speed: 70.025 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.112 Seconds

Caution Flags: 6 for 17 laps: Laps: 16-18 (#81 Stopped On The Track [39]); 42-44 (#52 Stopped On The Track [87]); 53-55 (#30 Accident Turn 10 [67]); 57-59 (#15, 23 Accident Turn 8 [39]); 63-64 (Debris On Straightaway Between Turns 12 And 13 [75]); 69-71 (#12, 77 Accident Turn 2 [15]).

Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers: J. Villeneuve 1-6; J. Leffler 7-11; S. Speed 12-16; J. Villeneuve 17-30; R. Gordon(i) 31-35; J. Villeneuve 36-44; R. Fellows 45-46; A. Tagliani 47-52; R. Fellows 53-59; A. Tagliani 60-64; M. Ambrose(i) 65-74.