Ambrose, RPM Set For 500th Sprint Cup Start

This weekend, Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 Mac Tools Ford team will help celebrate the 500^th NASCAR Sprint Cup start for Richard Petty Motorsports.

RPM was formed in 2009, with Ambrose joining the organization in 2011. In his three seasons with the team, the Australian native has made 105 starts and tallied two of RPM's four wins. He has also posted eight top-fives, 26 top-10s and three poles while racing for "The King" Richard Petty.

"It is really exciting to reach the 500 start mark with RPM,” said Ambrose this week. “This team has come a long way since it started; even in the three years I have been here. I came here and we quickly had to get over some adversity, but we developed a strong base with Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein, Doug Bergeron and our other investors and partners. We developed a base and were able to capitalize by winning at Watkins Glen for consecutive two years. We also put ourselves into a position to make the Chase for the past two years. This year wasn't what we hoped for on the track, but off the track, we're stronger than ever.

"We look at our partnerships with STANLEY, DEWALT and Mac Tools, and they have been with Richard Petty Motorsports since 2009. They have been with me for every race that I've raced here. You can't say that about many companies in this sport. It just doesn't happen, and we're very fortunate to have that relationship. I'm looking forward to being with Richard Petty Motorsports and the No. 9 team for many more races to come. Hopefully, we're just starting on our road to much more success."

Ambrose has 10 career Texas starts and posted a best finish of sixth in the spring race in 2011. Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer is also not a stranger to Victory Lane at Texas. He won the Nationwide race in 2007 with Matt Kenseth at the wheel and a Sprint Cup Series pole in the 2011 with David Ragan.

"The handling at Texas is very important,” said Blickensderfer. “We'll really focus on that during practice and the race. We've been really successful at the intermediate tracks the second half of the season, and I think we can keep that momentum heading into this weekend. We qualified really well here in the spring, so hopefully we can repeat that this weekend. Hitting the 500 mark for RPM this weekend, we are really focused on running well, and hopefully, we can bring home a win."