SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — Frank Kerr, crew chief for Marcos Ambrose and the No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota, won the NASCAR MOOG "Problem Solver of the Race" Award Sunday after Ambrose captured his first top-five finish of the year in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
Sponsored by global automotive components manufacturer Federal-Mogul Corp., the MOOG Problem Solver award is presented following every Sprint Cup race to the crew chief whose car posts the largest increase in average lap speed from the first half to the second half of the event while finishing on the lead lap. Ambrose and the No. 47 Toyota picked up a race-high .137-second per lap over the final 45 trips around the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen road course.
The winner of Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, Ambrose advanced from 11th to third position within the first 15 laps of Sunday’s Sprint Cup contest, then set his sights on leader and eventual race winner Juan Montoya. Ambrose and Montoya — both driving cars equipped with precision-engineered MOOG steering and suspension components — battled nose-to-tail over the next 40 laps before Ambrose encountered a late-race tire issue. The No. 47 car never lost site of the leader, however, and posted a season-best third-place finish.
"Marcos and Juan put on a great show. It was obvious they had the two best-handling cars throughout much of the race," said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Director Tim Nelson. "Frank and the JTG Daugherty Racing crew gave Marcos an excellent setup at the start and seemed to make all the right calls in the pits throughout the race to have a legitimate chance at a two-win weekend."
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