Marcos Ambrose looking forward to Phoenix 500

CONCORD, N.C. - Marcos Ambrose will travel West to the Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway this weekend. The Launceston, Australia native will look to better his season opening 18th-place finish in the Daytona 500 at the one-mile track in his No. 9 DEWALT Ford Fusion.

Marcos Ambrose, Richard Petty Motorsports Ford

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Ambrose will make his 10th start at Phoenix in Sunday's Subway Fresh Fit 500. His best finish is an eighth-place finish in the fall of 2011 with the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports team. He also has four top-15 finishes at the track.

Comments from DEWALT Ford Fusion Driver Marcos Ambrose:

"I'm really looking forward to racing at Phoenix this weekend. It's a lot different to go from a superspeedway to a short track, but I'm ready to have the opportunity to control more of our fate this weekend. I feel good about it too, because we have found success at Phoenix in the past. We just need to make sure that we are prepared with the new Ford Fusions.

"This will be the first race with DEWALT on the car this season. The new cars look great, they did well in Daytona, but we're all going to learn a lot more this weekend. This is a different animal than the racing we saw in Daytona. We will have to work hard to be prepared for Sunday's race."

Comments from Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on Phoenix:

"We had hoped for a better finish at Daytona but were glad to finish the race in one piece. We kind of look at Phoenix as the first race of the season as far as being able to tell what everyone has. I'm looking forward to seeing how the RPM Gen-6 cars perform on a mile track. It will help us to see what we need to work on for our short track program. We tested at Charlotte and are happy with our intermediate program and are hoping for the same this weekend."

Chassis History:

The No. 9 team has prepared chassis No. 838 for Phoenix. This is a new chassis that the team built in the off-season.

Richard Petty Motorsport