Petty Motorsports Phoenix Race Recap

MARCOS AMBROSE

No. 9 DEWALT Ford Fusion

·         Marcos Ambrose started the race at Phoenix International Raceway from the third spot

·         Ambrose finished the 312-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in the 8th position

·         Unofficially, Ambrose sits in 17th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings

Race Summary: Marcos Ambrose started the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix International Raceway from the third spot. He quickly drove his way to the second position on the first lap, before slick track conditions caused the DEWALT Ford to lose grip and slide back to fifth place on Lap 13. Fighting a loose condition, Ambrose relayed to Crew Chief Todd Parrott that the No. 9 car was lacking rear grip and had no side bite off of the corners.

Though he was fighting the handling of his race car, Ambrose was still clicking off lap times as quick as the leaders. A competition caution on Lap 42 allowed Parrott to call Ambrose into the pits for his initial stop of the day, and the team bolted on two right side tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment. Restarting in the fifth position, Ambrose continued to run lap times identical to the leader and remained inside the Top-Five until the fourth caution flag of the day flew on Lap 92. Parrott again called the No. 9 down pit road, this time for four fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment in hopes of correcting the cars handling issues.

Several teams elected to take only two tires during the Lap 94 round of pit stops and Ambrose restarted in the eighth spot. After running just 15 laps, Ambrose keyed his radio and relayed to the crew that he did not like the changes made on the previous stop, and that his car was tight through the middle of the turns and twitchy when he got on the brakes.

A pit stop under green flag conditions on Lap 154 allowed Ambrose to bring the DEWALT Ford into the pits for four fresh tires, fuel and track bar, spring rubber and air pressure adjustments. Just three laps after pitting, an untimely caution caused Ambrose to lose a lap to the leaders. Having just pitted a few laps earlier, Parrott elected to take the wave around instead of pitting under the Lap 258 yellow flag period and Ambrose restarted at the tail end of the lead lap in the 21st position.

On a mission to work his way back toward the front of the field, Ambrose drove his way inside the Top-10 by Lap 196 and remained there until the caution flag flew for the eighth and final time on Lap 219.

Continuing to fight a car that was still a bit loose, Ambrose came into the pits for four tires, fuel and a slight wedge adjustment. The adjustments made on the previous stop didn’t seem to help improve the car’s handling, and Ambrose communicated to the crew that he was still fighting a loose condition on entry into the turns.

Not able to make it the remainder of the race on fuel, Parrott called Ambrose down pit road for the final time on Lap 279 and instructed the crew to add a can of fuel and two right side tires and make another wedge adjustment to the No. 9 car.

The changes made on the last pit stop of the day seemed to help the DEWALT machine and before long, Ambrose was running lap times faster than the leader and had made his way back inside the Top 10. Ambrose continued to run consistent laps and wheeled his way to an eighth-place finish when the checkered flag flew at Phoenix International Raceway.

Ambrose remains in the17th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings heading into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

AJ ALLMENDINGER

No. 43 WIX Filters Ford Fusion

·         AJ Allmendinger started from the front row for the 312-mile event at Phoenix International Raceway

·         Allmendinger finished in the race in the sixth position at the one-mile track

·         Unofficially, Allmendinger sits in 16th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings

Race Summary: AJ Allmendinger started Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event from the outside of the front row and the second-place starting effort was the fourth of the season for the No. 43 team. A quick caution just three laps after the green flag flew gave Allmendinger the opportunity to relay to his team how slick the track was before restarting on Lap 6 in the fifth position.

Allmendinger moved into the fourth spot at Lap 31 and communicated to the team that the No. 43 WIX Filters Ford Fusion was handling pretty well except for being a tick tight in the center of the corners. Allmendinger drove down pit road to the attention of his crew during the scheduled competition caution at Lap 42 and Crew Chief Greg Erwin called for fresh left side tires and fuel during the stop. The No. 43 machine restarted in seventh place, and by Lap 69, Allmendinger had driven into second.

Allmendinger battled a bit of a tight condition for much of the race, but remained inside the Top 10 for the majority of the event. A pit stop on Lap 161 resulted in the No. 43 lining up for the ensuing restart in ninth place after problems arose in the mechanics of the pit stop. The California native began another ascent toward the front of the field and had made it all the way to third place before communicating to the crew that the car was the best it had been all day at Lap 219. During a pit stop several laps later, the crew opted to make no adjustments to the car. Allmendinger lined up for the Lap 225 restart in fifth place.

Track conditions changed throughout the event and the car became very loose with about 80 laps remaining. Allmendinger fell back as far as 11th, but was able to begin to work his way back toward the front of the field not long after. A final pit stop at Lap 287 enabled Erwin’s crew to change left side tires and fill the tank with fuel. Allmendinger held down ninth place with 18 laps left in the race and by the time the checkered flag flew, he had made his way up to the sixth position.

Sunday’s finish marked the No. 43 team’s 10th Top-10 effort of the season. Allmendinger sits in 16th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings heading into next weekend’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only 25 markers separate Allmendinger from 13th place in the point standings.