Watkins Glen just another chance for Ambrose to win

Thankfully, for Marcos Ambrose, there was just a beat-up fender on the right side. And a few scuffed tires. And maybe a few dents in the rear bumper.

Ambrose, who was the fall guy in last week's controversial finish at Montreal, didn't dwell on the late-race happenings.

To recap: Ambrose held the lead. Robby Gordon passed him as the caution displayed. Ambrose wrecked Gordon under yellow. NASCAR black-flagged Gordon for not lining up properly, although he refused to acknowledge it. Gordon spun race-leader Ambrose.

By the Numbers

Two Penske drivers have won the last two races at Watkins Glen, but one man has finished right behind them both times.

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And when the cameras were turned on back in the garage while no less than three drivers were celebrating on the track, Ambrose, the would-be winner until his spin, sounded like he was reading bedtime stories.

"I'm devastated," Ambrose said with a smile from the Montreal garage. "I promised myself that when I got my chance in NASCAR, that even if I had my worst day I'm not going to be mad. I'm not mad. Just disappointed, you know. This close."

But that was last week.

"That we didn't take our first victory was not our own doing, but the beauty of NASCAR is that when you race every weekend, you don't have much of a chance to look back because the next race is always around the corner," Ambrose said.

And that next race just happens to be a road course.

For the first time the Busch Series schedule moves to its second consecutive road-course race when the green flies on Saturday's Zippo 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2). That's just fine for Ambrose, who polished his driving with consecutive championships in Australia's V8 Supercar -- primarily a road-course series.

His expertise has shown. He's the only driver to score top-10 finishes at both Mexico City (eighth) and Montreal (seventh).

"We are using the same car at Watkins Glen that we used in Montreal, and it's one very, very good racecar," said Ambrose, who led 37 of 75 laps and wound up seventh after the late-race antics. "The car took a little bit more of a beating than we would have liked, so we have sent another truck up from our shop in North Carolina to meet the car at Watkins Glen with some extra parts and panels. With a bit of work, the car will be ready to go and then it's up to us to get it working and up front.

"As bad as the ending was in Montreal, that race showed we mean business and that in a road course style of racing we can do great things."

Carpentier back behind the wheel
Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier will again be in the No. 22 Dodge this weekend after winning the pole and finishing second last week in his Busch Series debut.

The run led to him serving as a substitute driver in the No. 10 Cup car this weekend, as well as at least two more Busch races with Fitz Motorsports. (read more)

"Everything has been crazy since last weekend, but it's great," he said. "I have some experience on the track at Watkins Glen with other series, but I am excited to run it in a stock car. Hopefully we will have success similar to what we did in Montreal.

Harvick looks to continue road run
In six Busch Series road-course races, Kevin Harvick's worst finish is seventh, which came at Watkins Glen last year.

He has a pair of third-place finishes at The Glen, along with a second and a third at Mexico City. And of course he won last week's race at Montreal.

But this week he'll have to decipher notes between the Busch car and Cup's COT.

"It's going to take a lot of concentration on my part to be successful in both the Busch and Cup car," said Harvick, who won last year's Cup race at The Glen.

"Canada was pretty wild, but we put ourselves in contention to win at the end. If we can do the same this week and just stick to the plan, we could bring home another win."