Published on: http://www.ontherecord-unisa.com.au/?p=3306

Australian Marcos Ambrose scored his second-straight win after an eventful finish at Watkins Glen, a race Ambrose later claimed to be the best race of his career.

Ambrose only led eight laps of the 90 lap race, but made sure the last lap counted, despite engine oil was spreading all over the circuit from Bobby Labonte’s car and a crash between then race leader Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

With Keselowski and Ambrose away from the rest of the field, it was a final lap dash with pure racing.

Keselowski and Ambrose battled for position until the chequered flag, which saw both drivers running wide off the circuit to claim the final positions for the race.

Ford-driver Ambrose took his second-straight win at the Watkins Glen circuit, with Brad Keselowski finishing in second place and current championship leader Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top three.

With Ambrose using a three pit-stop strategy, this meant he could drive flat out throughout the entire race.

Despite falling back to as 24^th position at one point, Ambrose continued to put himself back into contention for the win.

The final ten laps of the race saw Ambrose take second position from Keselowski, but with the fluid on the track and Ambrose’s tyres beyond new, Keselowski gained his position back before the final lap with Kyle Busch in first position.

After the race, Ambrose dedicated his win to his father, who has recently been dealing with illness.

“A big shout-out to dad, he’s been in hospital all week and I wish I was there with you,” Ambrose told the press.

“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.”

Out of the five starts the Australian has had at Watkins Glen, Ambrose has won two races, his worst finish in third place.

Ambrose is known as the king at Watkins Glen since his switch from V8 Supercars to the Sprint Cup series, with Ambrose stating that the win this year was “pure joy”.

Race Results

1. #9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 90 laps 2hrs 18mins 1secs (47/1 pts)
2. #2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 90 laps + 0.571s (43/1 pts)
3. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 90 laps + 9.218s (41/0 pts)
4. #15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 90 laps + 9.269s (40/0 pts)
5. #22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 90 laps + 9.493s (0pts)
6. #16 Greg Biffle Ford 90 laps + 10.289s (38/0 pts)
7. #18 Kyle Busch Toyota 90 laps + 10.489s (39/2 pts)
8. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford 90 laps + 11.124s (36/0 pts)
9. #78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 90 laps + 11.555s (35/0 pts)
10. #56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 90 laps + 12.631s (34/0 pts)
11. #39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 90 laps + 12.940s (33/0 pts)
12. #27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 90 laps + 12.999s (32/0 pts)
13. #5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 90 laps + 13.076s (31/0 pts)
14. #99 Carl Edwards Ford 90 laps + 13.584s (31/1 pts)
15. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 90 laps + 16.460s (29/0 pts)
16. #13 Casey Mears Ford 90 laps + 16.934s (28/0 pts)
17. #195 Scott Speed Ford 90 laps + 16.976s (27/0 pts)
18. #43 Aric Almirola Ford 90 laps + 17.050s (26/0 pts)
19. #14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 90 laps + 23.560s (25/0 pts)
20. #38 David Gilliland Ford 90 laps + 23.721s (24/0 pts)
21. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 90 laps + 24.430s (23/0 pts)
22. #34 David Ragan Ford 90 laps + 26.547s (22/0 pts)
23. #83 Landon Cassill Toyota 90 laps + 37.988s (21/0 pts)
24. #93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 90 laps + 38.259s (20/0 pts)
25. #32 Boris Said Ford 90 laps + 63.902s (19/0 pts)
26. #33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 90 laps + 80.259s (18/0 pts)
27. #47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 90 laps + 88.469s (17/0 pts)
28. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 89 laps + 1 lap (16/0 pts)
29. #87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 88 laps + 2 laps (0pts)
30. #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 84 laps + 6 laps (14/0 pts)
31. #51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 81 laps + 9 laps (13/0 pts)
32. #20 Joey Logano Toyota 71 laps + 19 laps (12/0 pts)
33. #42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 63 laps Accident (12/1 pts)
34. #11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 57 laps Engine (10/0 pts)
35. #249 Jason Leffler Toyota 42 laps Engine (0pts)
36. #36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 41 laps Susp. (8/0 pts)
37. #98 Michael McDowell Ford 30 laps Rear Gear (7/0 pts)
38. #26 Josh Wise * Ford 25 laps Electrical (6/0 pts)
39. #1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 24 laps Accident (5/0 pts)
40. #10 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 15 laps Brakes (4/0 pts)
41. #119 Chris Cook Toyota 5 laps Brakes (3/0 pts)
42. #30 Patrick Long Toyota 2 laps Brakes (2/0 pts)
43. #55 Brian Vickers Toyota 0 laps Engine (1/0 pts)