9/3/2009
Marcos Ambrose has had a tough day at the office, ending in engine failure mid-way through the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia today.

Ambrose had an engine failure on lap 179 of today’s race, his first failure to finish this season after four races.

The Australian had made a steady start to the race after qualifying 38th fastest in the #47 Kingsford entry. Ambrose lost a lap after being caught out with a green flag pit stop and was further delayed by a penalty after one of his pit crew crossed pit lane to retrieve a stray tyre after a pit stop. The engine failure ended any chances of Ambrose making a recover and resulted in Ambrose being classified in 38th position and dropping to 28th in the Sprint Cup Series standings.

Kurt Busch won today’s Kobalt Tools 500 ahead of series leader Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.

WHAT MARCOS HAS TO SAY:

“We blew up - not sure what went wrong there,” said Ambrose.

“We were trucking along there pretty good. We lost a cylinder for about 50 laps and then it finally went. I just hoped I didn’t oil the track down for everybody else.

“It’s been an unfortunate day for us. We had a lot of speed here in practice and it’s just shame that we couldn’t convert.

“There are a lot of motor issues this year for all manufacturers. I don't really know - I'm just driving it. I'm not privy to the insides of the motors as to what’s really happening.

“It's a shame for us, but we'll bounce back. We've had a great start to our season and we'll turn up at Bristol and hopefully get it done there.”

Q: What did you think about your gas man that brought out the first caution?

“I’ll look at the tape - I'm not sure. We don't want to ruin anybody’s race - especially NASCAR’s.

“We want to play by the rules and do everything right. If we did something wrong then we need to look at it and not do it again.”

RESULTS: Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race 4 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
1. #2 Kurt Busch 330 laps
2. #24 Jeff Gordon
3. #99 Carl Edwards
4. #29 Kevin Harvick
5. #83 Brian Vickers
6. #33 Clint Bowyer
7. #14 Tony Stewart
8. #9 Kasey Kahne
9. #48 Jimmie Johnson
10. #1 Martin Truex Jr
38. #47 Marcos Ambrose 179 laps

STARTING LINE-UP: Kobalt Tools 500
1. #5 Mark Martin 29.640
2. #2 Kurt Busch 29.748
3. #26 Jamie McMurray 29.757
4. #42 Juan Pablo Montoya 29.773
5. #16 Greg Biffle 29.777
6. #11 Denny Hamlin 29.780
7. #48 Jimmie Johnson 29.798
8. #87 Joe Nemechek 29.819
9. #18 Kyle Busch 29.824
10. #29 Kevin Harvick 29.833
34. #47 Marcos Ambrose 30.250

2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver’s Standings - After Race 4 of 36
1. Jeff Gordon 634
2. Clint Bowyer 591
3. Kurt Busch 588
4. Carl Edwards 547
5. Matt Kenseth 546
6. Tony Stewart 521
7. Kyle Busch 514
8. Kevin Harvick 511
9. Kasey Kahne 484
10. Greg Biffle 480
28. Marcos Ambrose 361

THE RACE:

Kobalt Tools 500
First staged in 1960
325 laps
500.5 miles/800.5 kilometres

FORM GUIDE:

2008 March Race Winner: Kyle Busch
2008 Polesitter: Jeff Gordon

2008 October Race Winner: Carl Edwards
2008 October Polesitter: Jimmie Johnson

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