AMBROSE TO START FROM 18TH AFTER RAIN WASHES OUT QUALIFYING IN CALIFORNIA

Marcos Ambrose will start the Stater Bros 300 from 18th position after rain cancelled qualifying for the event at the Auto Club Speedway (nee California Speedway) in Fontana, California today.

Both practice sessions were rained out, forcing NASCAR to set the field using 2007 Owner's Points and replace tomorrow morning's qualifying session with a single practice session for NASCAR Nationwide Series teams, including Ambrose and his #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion from JTG Racing.

Marcos Ambrose - #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion

"We're just busting to get out on the track, have a good run and see what we've got," said Ambrose.

"It feels like I've been waiting all off-season to get to this point. This track here and the race will be a real good indication of where we are at as a team. We're ready to go.

“I was in the car, started it up and was backing out. Then NASCAR called off practice because of the rain. It feels like it [practice] was never going to happen. I guess you've just got to be patient and we'll hopefully get out there this afternoon and have a good run."

Q: HOW DOES THIS CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE RACE?

MA: "It doesn't change anything, you've just got to run with what you have. Hopefully, what we've built is close and we can go out there and have a good weekend. The difficult part is just not knowing what you've got. You want to go out there, get on the track and do your job as a professional driver. I'm here to win races. I can't do that unless I go out there and practice."

Q: DID YOU BRING A NEW RACE FUSION HERE?

MA: "It's a brand new car, pretty much. It's been fully re-built. We ran it at Las Vegas in testing, but that's a different style of speedway, so I'm not sure how much data we can use from there. We were happy with it there, we're just really eager to get out there and see what we've got."

Q: HOW MUCH DO WILL YOU RELY ON THE TEAM AND THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH MINIMAL PRACTICE?

MA: "It's going to really show where we are at as a team. What we've done over the off-season and where we're at now. There's no pressure on us right now. Walter [Giles, crew chief] and I have got to get to know each other. We haven't had much of a chance to work with each other. We've had one really good test at Las Vegas and then the Daytona race where we didn't have the finish we were hoping for. We need to get working and that's what it's all about for us."