Ambrose Firmly Planted in Top 35 Points Heading into Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta, March 6, 2009: On Sunday, Marcos Ambrose makes his 15th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and third of the season when he takes the green flag at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He is comfortably seated in the point standings currently occupying 20th-place.

“We are three races into the season and we are solid in the points,” Ambrose said. “We are not worried about the top 35 right now because we already have a great base to work from.”

This weekend Kingsford Charcoal® is the primary sponsor of Ambrose’s No. 47 Toyota fielded by JTG-Daugherty Racing as he prepares to top his best finish this season of 17th-place that he posted in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

“We have got Kingsford Charcoal® on board our Toyota Camry again this weekend,” Ambrose said. “We are looking to build on what we have accomplished so far. We have finished 17th, 22nd and 20th and are expecting better results at Atlanta.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway may be an easier track for Ambrose to conquer since he has Cup experience at the 1.54-mile quad-oval. Last year, he started 38th and finished 29th with Michael Waltrip Racing. In addition to his one Cup start at Atlanta, he also has two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts where he finished 11th (2008) and 28th (2007) behind the wheel of the No. 59 Kingsford JTG-Daugherty Racing entry.

“I have already had a race at Atlanta and I know what to expect,” Ambrose said. “It’s a difficult race track to get comfortable at because the speeds are so high and the grip goes away fast. There are a lot of tracks on the schedule where I haven’t competed in a Cup race. I’m still learning and getting comfortable out there."

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday, Ambrose overcame an early race accident to post his second top-20 finish of the season in three starts. The result lifted him one position to 20th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings and he’s hoping to continue his points climb in the 325-lap event.

“We’ve just got to keep doing what we have been doing and stay out of trouble,” Ambrose said. “We had a great car at Las Vegas and it’s just a shame that we got wrecked early on. We hope we have better luck this time around at Atlanta.”