Ambrose Goes to Kansas with New Primary Partner
The No. 9 car will showcase two Black & Decker products that will be launching this fall-the all-new GYRO TM Screwdriver and the MATRIX Quick Connect System. Gyro is the world's first motion-activated screw driver that controls variable speed and direction- an industry-first for a screwdriver. The Matrix Quick Connect System is an innovative modular tool system built around two different power units and interchangeable attachments to drill, cut, sand, and more.
Black & Decker will also adorn the No. 9 Ford at Martinsville, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami this season.
Ambrose will make his seventh career start at Kansas Speedway this weekend. His best start (21st) and his best finish (ninth) came in the 2011 fall race. Ambrose sits in 18th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings heading into Sunday's 267-lap event.
In addition to this weekend's normal racing activities, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will have two extra days of practice at Kansas on Wednesday and Thursday. Kansas Speedway was reconfigured this summer and the additional track time will allow drivers and teams to assess the new racing surface ahead of Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400.
Comments from Black & Decker Ford Fusion Driver Marcos Ambrose:
"I'm honored to have Black & Decker on board our No. 9 Ford Fusion for four of the five remaining races this season. As a race team we use tools every weekend and know how important it is that the tools we use are reliable and efficient. Black & Decker is known for their high quality products, so it only makes sense that we showcase some of their new and innovative tools on our car over the next few weeks.
"We get a little extra track time going into Kansas this weekend with the practice sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, so we should have plenty of time to get the newly configured surface figured out. It's always exciting going to a track for the first time after it's been reconfigured, because you never know what it's going to be like until you actually get in the car. I enjoy racing at Kansas, and I had a top-10 finish there last fall. Some of our best finishes this season have come at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, so I'm hoping we can hit our marks and come away with a great finish on Sunday for our new partner Black & Decker."
Comments from Crew Chief Mike Ford on Kansas Speedway:
"They reconfigured the track earlier this year, so the new racing surface will present some challenges with the unknowns. We are going to have two extra days of practice on Wednesday and Thursday to try and get things figured out. We will use our backup car for practice and then transfer those notes over to our primary for race weekend. With the new surface tire wear will be different than it has been in the past, so I suspect tire strategy will come into play at some point this weekend. We are looking forward to getting to Kansas and getting on the track to learn as much as we can ahead of the race."