NASCAR Cup Series debutant Marcos Ambrose sent tongues wagging throughout the Sprint Cup paddock at the Infineon Raceway by setting the fastest time of all in Happy Hour ahead of Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350.
Australian driver Ambrose, who qualified his #21 Wood Brothers Ford in a fantastic seventh place on the grid in Friday's qualifying session, went two tenths of a second faster than anyone else in the final Cup Series practice on Saturday before he and four other drivers jetted off to Milwaukee for Saturday night's Nationwide Series race.
Ambrose, a multiple champion in the Australian V8 Supercar Series, turned a best lap of 1 minute 18.101-seconds around the undulating ten turn 1.99-mile California road course despite running less than ten laps in practice and ending the session with a trip to one of the tracks unforgiving concrete walls. Despite sustaining some light damage to the #21 Ford, the team have vowed to get the car fixed for the race.
Second fastest was another of this weekend's road course 'ringers,' veteran Ron Fellows in the #01 DEI Chevrolet usually occupied by rookie Regan Smith. Fellows stopped the clocks in a time of 1 minute 18.365-seconds.
David Gilliland was third quickest for Yates Racing with Denny Hamlin fourth in the best of the Joe Gibbs Toyota's and Martin Truex Jr fifth in a second DEI Chevrolet.
Defending Infineon winner Juan Montoya was sixth quickest with Brian Vickers, last weeks winner Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart rounding out the top ten.
Championship leader Kyle Busch, who has given up his attempt at running the full Nationwide Series campaign, was 11th on the timesheets with road course experts Boris Said, Patrick Carpentier and Italian Max Papis well placed in 14th, 15th and 16th places respectively.
Polesitter Kasey Kahne was only 21st quickest, one place behind Jimmie Johnson, who will start alongside Kahne on the front row of the grid while Robby Gordon, who is generally expected to shine on Sunday, was 23rd fastest despite only turning a handful of laps.
