Ambrose snookers Busch to win Zippo 200

Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 47 STP Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning his second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200
Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

When Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch came to the chicane or "bus stop" on Lap 64 of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, Busch stopped — out of necessity — and Ambrose didn't.

Ambrose's bold move into the chicane proved to be the winning pass, as the driver of the No. 47 Toyota held the lead the for the final 19 laps, winning the event for the second straight year.

Busch wasn't happy with the aggressive pass, which forced him to miss the chicane and stop on the track for a three-second penalty, but he rallied to finish second, the record 10th straight time he has posted a first- or second-place result in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Carl Edwards ran third, after Busch passed him to the outside through Turn 1 in the closing laps. Polesitter Kevin Harvick came home fourth, followed by road-course specialist Ron Fellows. Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski and Scott Speed completed the top 10.

"I just didn't quite have the top-end speed to make a classic pass on him," said Ambrose, who won in his only start in the series this year. "I knew I was going to have to bomb him somewhere to get the win. He wasn't going to make a mistake on his own. I was going to have to force one on him.

"It's Kyle Busch we're talking about, and he's going to race you hard, and so I just tried to throw the element of surprise in. I came from a fair way back — about a length-and-a-half back on him — and just bombed up in there. I knew that it was a high-risk move, but it was one that was needed to be made to try to win the race.

"We're not here to come second. We're here to win, and I had that mindset all weekend."

Busch said he would not have tried the winning move Ambrose made.

"I wouldn't have made it, because I would have wrecked," said Busch, who expanded his series points lead over second-place Edwards to 212 points. "I think we would have wrecked if one of the cars didn't give, (and) I was the car that gave. I don't think it was a fair move. It won him the race. He had to do something.

"Yay for him. Good job — whatever. I wouldn't have been able to it. I would have wadded my stuff up."

Ambrose countered by pointing out that he hadn't touched Busch's No. 18 Toyota.

"You're racing against one of the best in the business," Ambrose said. "The element of surprise was my attack. He clearly reacted late to me coming on the inside there. I don't know what he's got to complain about."

Edwards saw nothing wrong with Ambrose's pass.

"Marcos knows more about road racing than all of us," Edwards said. "I wasn't happy that he moved me out of the way into (Turn) 1 earlier (after a restart on Lap 48), but he apologized for it and I believe him.

"I saw replays of it (the pass into the bus stop) on the big screen when we were driving around, and it looked like just a pass. If I could have put my car in that position, I sure would have. I think anybody out there would have."

Ambrose's pass wasn't the only controversy of the afternoon. Robby Gordon and Joey Logano repeatedly got together on the track. The last contact between the two sent Logano into a tire barrier, only to carom back onto the track. The car burst into flames, and Logano escaped unscathed but angry.

"You can't fix stupid," Logano said of Gordon's aggression. "It's forever."

Notes: Ambrose led a race-high 26 laps, edging Edwards by one. … Busch led once for 15 laps, leading his 19th straight Nationwide race. That tied a record held by Sam Ard. … Ambrose has two Nationwide wins in 71 starts, and he'll try to keep his 2009 Nationwide record perfect Aug. 30 at Montreal.

Results

FIN

ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 2 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota STP Octane Booster 195/10 82 Running
2 7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota NOS Energy Drink 175/5 82 Running
3 11 60 Carl Edwards Ford Save-A-Lot 175/5 82 Running
4 1 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Copart 165/5 82 Running
5 10 5 Ron Fellows Chevrolet Fastenal 155/0 82 Running
6 17 29 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express 150/0 82 Running
7 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford CitiFinancial 146/0 82 Running
8 21 6 David Ragan Ford Northern Tool + Equipment / Discount Tire 147/5 82 Running
9 14 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 138/0 82 Running
10 4 99 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 139/5 82 Running
11 9 09 Boris Said Ford Zaxby's 130/0 82 Running
12 22 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet 5-Hour Energy 132/5 82 Running
13 20 91 Dave Blaney Chevrolet SFP 124/0 82 Running
14 3 155 Robby Gordon Toyota Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas / The Rogue Joint 121/0 82 Running
15 28 38 Jason Leffler Toyota Great Clips 118/0 82 Running
16 26 27 Jason Keller Ford Baker Curb Racing 115/0 82 Running
17 27 12 Justin Allgaier * Dodge Verizon Wireless 112/0 82 Running
18 16 4 J.R. Fitzpatrick Chevrolet Kevin Harvick, Inc. 109/0 82 Running
19 24 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet U.S. Border Patrol 106/0 82 Running
20 35 15 Michael Annett * Toyota Pilot Travel Centers 103/0 82 Running
21 31 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet Lagina Plumbing / Eldora Speedway 100/0 82 Running
22 37 62 Brendan Gaughan * Chevrolet US Fidelis 97/0 82 Running
23 41 81 Sean Murphy Dodge MacDonald Motorsports 94/0 82 Running
24 36 40 Jeffrey Earnhardt Chevrolet FABgrills.com 91/0 82 Running
25 38 01 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet SponsorDavis.com 88/0 82 Running
26 25 87 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet NEMCO Motorsports 85/0 82 Running
27 19 26 Michael McDowell * Dodge Fischer Honda 82/0 82 Running
28 39 234 Tony Raines Dodge Long John Silver's 79/0 82 Accident
29 23 198 Paul Menard Ford Richmond / Menards 76/0 80 Running
30 40 24 Eric McClure Ford Del Monte 73/0 80 Running
31 42 23 Chris Cook Chevrolet Aaron's Dream Machine 70/0 79 Running
32 13 10 Justin Marks Toyota Construct Corps 67/0 76 Transmission
33 6 20 Joey Logano Toyota GameStop 64/0 69 Accident
34 5 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota Ridemakerz 61/0 68 Susp.
35 12 1 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 58/0 51 Fuel Pump
36 34 61 Matt Carter Ford Specialty Racing 55/0 50 Accident
37 8 32 Brian Vickers Toyota Dollar General 52/0 31 Transmission
38 33 49 Mark Green Chevrolet GetMoreVacations.com 49/0 28 Transmission
39 43 0 Mike Wallace Chevrolet SponsorDavis.com 46/0 23 Clutch
40 15 186 Antonio Perez Dodge Continental Electric / Telmex / Chivas Racing 43/0 22 Vibration
41 29 141 Tom Hubert Chevrolet M3 — Matthews Mobile Media 40/0 14 Brakes
42 30 07 Kris Szekeres Chevrolet Dynamic Technologies 37/0 9 Electrical
43 32 90 Mike Bliss Chevrolet MSRP Motorsports 34/0 4 Brakes