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Marcos Ambrose went from the fastest recent pole to the slowest, as he topped the time sheets during qualifying of the Sonoma Raceway Sprint race.
Last week he was the first driver in two decades to go over 200mph, this weekend, on a road course he didn't break the century mark, but, he didn't mind.
"Now that I have a taste for it I think Kentucky will be about 175 mph and I will be gunning for that as well. I am really thrilled for today," the Australian-born driver said. "I put a lot of effort into this race and everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports and the whole Stanley team have been rock solid behind me for the road course program.
"Ford Racing has done a lot of hard work here too and we brought a brand new hot rod for this race and it is even better than what we had here last year.
"I am glad we could convert the effort into a great result. It is only one lap and we have to do a lot more on Sunday but at least we can go home and say we had the fastest car.
"I was more nervous running 90 mph than I was running 200."
Ambrose ran around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile course in 1min15.203s to win the pole with a speed of 95.262 mph.
The pole winner beat five-champ, Jimmie Johnson - a previous winner here - by better than three-tenths of a second.
Ambrose then had to watch Jeff Gordon, winless this season but a five-time winner at this track, run the last lap of the day. Gordon made a valiant effort but came up a little short at 1min15.357s.
The affable Ambrose joked "I tried to act like a wombat and put my head on the ground and just wait," he said, referring to a badger-like creature found in his native Tasmania. Even if he's still seeking his first oval win, another win on a road course would still be sweet. "I've got as good a chance as anyone to win the race."
Greg Biffle will start fourth in a Ford.
Last week he was the first driver in two decades to go over 200mph, this weekend, on a road course he didn't break the century mark, but, he didn't mind.
"Now that I have a taste for it I think Kentucky will be about 175 mph and I will be gunning for that as well. I am really thrilled for today," the Australian-born driver said. "I put a lot of effort into this race and everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports and the whole Stanley team have been rock solid behind me for the road course program.
"Ford Racing has done a lot of hard work here too and we brought a brand new hot rod for this race and it is even better than what we had here last year.
"I am glad we could convert the effort into a great result. It is only one lap and we have to do a lot more on Sunday but at least we can go home and say we had the fastest car.
"I was more nervous running 90 mph than I was running 200."
Ambrose ran around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile course in 1min15.203s to win the pole with a speed of 95.262 mph.
The pole winner beat five-champ, Jimmie Johnson - a previous winner here - by better than three-tenths of a second.
Ambrose then had to watch Jeff Gordon, winless this season but a five-time winner at this track, run the last lap of the day. Gordon made a valiant effort but came up a little short at 1min15.357s.
The affable Ambrose joked "I tried to act like a wombat and put my head on the ground and just wait," he said, referring to a badger-like creature found in his native Tasmania. Even if he's still seeking his first oval win, another win on a road course would still be sweet. "I've got as good a chance as anyone to win the race."
Greg Biffle will start fourth in a Ford.