Australian NASCAR Sprint Cup star Marcos Ambrose has finished ninth in the Michigan 400 after starting from pole.
The former V8 Supercars champ was running in the top three for the first half of the race and was even in the lead at one point. But Ambrose dropped off the pace and it was the sport’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jnr who ended a four-year drought as he took the chequered flag.
Ambrose said he was pleased with just his second top 10 finish in the 15 races so far in the 2012 Sprint Cup season.
“We will take the top-ten, but we had a great car today and we lost a little bit of track position and it hurt us there,” Ambrose said.
“I am proud of my Stanley team; we led some laps and looked good up there.
“It was a strong day for us, not quite what we wanted, but we will take it and move along to Sonoma.”
Reigning Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart finished second, with current points leader Matt Kenseth bringing it home in third.
| 1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | Ford |
| 4 | Greg Biffle | Ford |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota |
| 8 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | Ford |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge |
| 14 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Bobby Labonte | Toyota |
| 17 | Aric Almirola | Ford |
| 18 | Landon Cassill | Toyota |
| 19 | AJ Allmendinger | Dodge |
| 20 | Casey Mears | Ford |
| 21 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet |
| 22 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet |
| 23 | David Ragan | Ford |
| 24 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet |
| 25 | Dave Blaney | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Travis Kvapil | Toyota |
| 27 | David Gilliland | Ford |
| 28 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet |
| 29 | Mark Martin | Toyota |
| 30 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Ken Schrader | Ford |
| 32 | Kyle Busch | Toyota |
| DNF | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet |
| DNF | Denny Hamlin | Toyota |
| DNF | Joey Logano | Toyota |
| DNF | Tony Raines | Chevrolet |
| DNF | J.J. Yeley | Toyota |
| DNF | Michael McDowell | Ford |
| DNF | Mike Bliss | Toyota |
| DNF | Joe Nemechek | Toyota |
| DNF | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet |
| DNF | Josh Wise * | Ford |
| DNF | Trevor Bayne | Ford |
