Australian driver Marcos Ambrose has scored his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole position in two races, claiming the top starting position at California’s Sonoma Raceway aboard the Stanley ‘Racing for a Miracle’ Ford Fusion.

After setting the seventh best time in opening practice, Ambrose blitzed the 43 car field to grab the top spot with a 0.154second margin.

This weekend is of particular importance for Ambrose and his Richard Petty Motorsports crew, with a victory on Sunday resulting in a $1 million donation by Stanley to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

The pole is Ambrose’s first on a natural road course in NASCAR’s top tier, and seventh overall in stock car racing since embarking on his North American career in 2006.

“I tell you what, Ford Racing has really put a lot of effort into this weekend’s race and I have to thank them for the horse power and engineering assistance,” Ambrose said.

“The RPM team has done a great job for me. Last week was great, but this week there might be over a 100 mph difference in lap times (compared to the Michigan pole), but I think this one was more intense.

“It is really hard to hit your lines here. We didnt have a great practice and had to rebuild the car and we didnt know what we had.

“I am proud of my team. I have to thank Stanley, we have a chance to win a million bucks for the kids.

“We are racing for a miracle and hopefully that qualifying holds up to be a miracle too.”

On track action at Sonoma continues with two practice sessions tomorrow.

The race will be broadcast live and free to air in Australia on ONE HD from 4:00am Monday morning.

Sonoma 350 Starting Line Up

1. Marcos Ambrose (Ford)

2. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet)

3. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)

4. Greg Biffle (Ford)

5. Martin Truex Jnr (Toyota)

6. Clint Bowyer (Toyota)

7. Kyle Busch (Toyota)

8. Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)

9. Matt Kenseth (Ford)

10. Ryan Newman (Chevrolet)

Somona Raceway Preview

Track Distance:1.99miles/3.2km

Track Type:Road Course

TV Times Australia

3:00am- Sonoma Qualifying, (Delayed) ONE HD

4:00am- Sonoma LIVE, ONE HD, SPEED + SPEED HD

Source: Marcos Ambrose Media Release