Marcos Ambrose watches the times closely - and so he should after qualifying fourth fastest in Phoenix
Aussie ace Marcos Ambrose has scored his best qualifying performance for the season by qualifying in fourth place at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale today.
Ambrose will start from the outside of the second row for tomorrow’s Subway Fresh Fit 600 in top four filled by recent NASCAR converts.
Former Champ Car star AJ Allmendinger scored pole position ahead of former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed. Ambrose, the 2003 and 2004 V8 Supercar champion, will start alongside former Indy 500 and IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr.
Ambrose admitted that he was surprised with his qualifying form at the odd-shaped one-mile oval after being 28th and 32nd fastest in the two practice sessions held earlier in the day.
“It was great, a real bonus for us,” said Ambrose.
“We didn’t expect to run that good. We feel good about it and we have a great race car. We had good practice speeds.
“We were worried about qualifying and to come out like we did and put a good lap down, we’re really proud of it.”
The result is his best qualifying performance since starting from third place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway last year and easily his best Sprint Cup qualifying performance in Phoenix, with a previous best of 18th position.
See below video highlights of qualifying today.
RESULTS: NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying
Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway
| Pos | No | Driver | Time |
| 1. | #43 | AJ Allmendinger | 26.731 |
| 2. | #82 | Scott Speed | 26.791 |
| 3. | #77 | Sam Hornish Jr | 26.826 |
| 4. | #47 | Marcos Ambrose | 26.903 |
| 5. | #88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 26.938 |
| 6. | #20 | Joey Logano | 26.981 |
| 7. | #42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 26.999 |
| 8. | #56 | Martin Truex Jr | 27.008 |
| 9. | #99 | Carl Edwards | 27.016 |
| 10. | #24 | Jeff Gordon | 27.017 |
