Finger Lakes 335 at the Glen Race Recap by Chief 187™

In the most exciting racing this correspondent has seen all season, Marcos Ambrose powered his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Ford Fusion to victory ahead of Brad Keselowski at the Finger Lakes 335 from the Glen.

The race saw many leaders including Kyle Busch who looked destined to win the 90-lap race, but fate had something else in store. At the white flag the No. 18 car slipped in a patch of oil as did Keselowski who spun Busch. Marcos Ambrose got the lead and held off Keselowski for the win.

Ambrose captured his second consecutive win at Watkins Glen which is also his second career win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Ambrose is the 14th different winner in this 2012 season to date.

Jimmie Johnson earned third on Sunday. Clint Bowyer finished fourth. Penske teammate of Keselowski and fill in shoe for the departed A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 22 car Sam Hornish Jr. rounded out the top five.

Greg Biffle was sixth. Busch had to settle for seventh after his bobble on the last lap. Matt Kenseth turned in an eighth place finish. Regan Smith posted a solid ninth place finish at the Glen. And Martin Truex Jr. ended his Sunday in tenth position.

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggling toward the end of the race, a new NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader is heralded. Teammate at Hendrick Motorsports and five-time champion Johnson is the current points leader coming out of the Glen.

Johnson picked up three spots to take over the top one by one point over Greg Biffle.


Greg Biffle moved up one place to land in second.

Kenseth fell one spot to third. Because of his 28th place finish in Sunday’s race Earnhardt Jr. slid three spots and finds himself fourth in points. Keselowski ascended two places to fifth.

Truex Jr. fell one position to sixth. Bowyer picked up three places for seventh. Tony Stewart stumbled, wound up 19th in the race, and lost two spots down to eighth. Kevin Harvick turned in a 15th at the Glen and stayed put in ninth. Denny Hamlin who appeared to blow an engine, logged a 34th in the race and lost two places to land in tenth.

With the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup only four races away, there is much movement and excitement! Currently Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman are vying for the two wild card positions.

Next week the action goes back to Michigan where Earnhardt Jr. is the defending winner this season. The Pure Michigan 400 will be run on Sunday, August 19th at 12 noon EST on ESPN.

Upon completion of the race, look for my race recap at this site.

Candice Smith is a writer, columnist, and blogger as well as creator of the widely popular Chief 187™ Chatter. Her works have been featured under the pen name Chief 187™ around the Internet including a syndicated post within the Indie Republic Network where she has conducted in-depth interviews with musicians, Mixed Martial Artists, and other personalities as well as waxes poetic on myriad topics. Candice Smith is currently writing her second season of her original column “Why I Love NASCAR” by Chief 187™ on Skirts and Scuffs. Additionally, another of her NASCAR columns can be found at MotorsportsUnplugged.com. She also contributes articles and NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Recaps weekly at WowShaneRadio.com. She began her Internet writing career at Rowdy.com where she honed her blogging skills and reawakened her love of NASCAR. Candice Smith can be heard on air four times a week co-hosting motorsports programs on Internet radio as well as her own racing show “Drafting the Circuits” on WhooBazoo.com. She can be reached via Twitter by following @Chief187s. To find out more please visit http://Chief187.com.