Monticello — NOTE: Results from the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen, NY is included
on Page 15-A of this edition of The Outlook.
When Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch came to the chicane or "bus stop" on
Lap 64 of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen
International, Busch stopped‹out of necessity‹and Ambrose didn't.
Ambrose's bold move into the chicane proved to be the winning pass, as
the driver of the No. 47 Toyota held the lead for the final 19 laps, winning
the race for the second straight year.
Busch wasn't happy with the aggressive pass, which forced him to miss
the chicane and stop on the track for a three-second penalty, but he rallied
to finish second, the record 10th straight time he has posted a first- or
second-place result in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
Carl Edwards ran third, after Busch passed him to the outside through
Turn 1 in the closing laps. Polesitter Kevin Harvick came home fourth,
followed by road-course specialist Ron Fellows. Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle,
David Ragan, Brad Keselowski and Scott Speed completed the top-10.
"I just didn't quite have the top-end speed to make a classic pass on
him," said Ambrose, who won in his only start in the series this year. "I
knew I was going to have to bomb him somewhere to get the win. He wasn't
going to make a mistake on his own. I was going to have to force one on him.
"It's Kyle Busch we're talking about, and he's going to race you hard,
and so I just tried to throw the element of surprise in. I came from a fair
way back‹about a length-and-a-half back on him‹and just bombed up in there.
I knew that it was a high-risk move, but it was one that was needed to be
made to try to win the race.
"We're not here to come second. We're here to win, and I had that
mindset all weekend."
Busch said he would not have tried the winning move Ambrose made.
"I wouldn't have made it, because I would have wrecked," said Busch. "I
think we would have wrecked if one of the cars didn't give, (and) I was the
car that gave. I don't think it was a fair move. It won him the race. He had
to do something.
"Yay for him. Good job‹whatever. I wouldn't have been able to it. I
would have wadded my stuff up."
Ambrose countered by pointing out that he hadn't touched Busch's No. 18
Toyota.
"You're racing against one of the best in the business," Ambrose said.
"The element of surprise was my attack. He clearly reacted late to me coming
on the inside there. I don't know what he's got to complain about."
Edwards saw nothing wrong with Ambrose's pass.
"Marcos knows more about road racing than all of us," Edwards said. "I
wasn't happy that he moved me out of the way into (Turn) 1 earlier (after a
restart on Lap 48), but he apologized for it and I believe him.
"I saw replays of it (the pass into the bus stop) on the big screen when
we were driving around, and it looked like just a pass. If I could have put
my car in that position, I sure would have. I think anybody out there would
have."
Ambrose's pass wasn't the only controversy of the afternoon. Robby
Gordon and Joey Logano repeatedly got together on the track. The last
contact between the two sent Logano into a tire barrier, only to carom back
onto the track. The car burst into flames, and Logano escaped unscathed but
angry.
"You can't fix stupid," Logano said of Gordon's aggression. "It's
forever."
Top-10 leaders after 22 of 35: 1. Kyle Busch-3646, 2. Edwards-3434, 3.
Keselowski-3237, 4. Leffler-3073, 5. Allgaier-2605, 6. S. Wallace-2535, 7.
Bliss-2513, 8. Keller-2509, 9. Gaughan-2462, 10. Logano-2459