Raybestos Rookie Marcos Ambrose Qualified 4rth in the No. 20 Ford F-150 at Martinsville. (High Sierra Photo)

Marcos Ambrose in the No. 20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford was the top Raybestos Rookie qualifier at Martinsville. Ambrose will start fourth, his fifth top-five start of the 2006 season. Erik Darnell will start fifth, his fourth top-five start this season.

Ambrose and Darnell are the only Raybestos Rookies to win a pole position this season. Ambrose is the only Raybestos Rookie to capture WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors in the Craftsman Truck Series this season. Ambrose led twice for 49 laps to claim the honor in the Built Ford Tough 225.

Ambrose Press Conference
"That's not too bad. As it's cooling off here it's getting pretty slick. We were a little loose but we did okay. I said to myself at the start of the day if I can just qualify on the inside row, wherever I start, I'll be happy. And then Sprague got me there to start on the outside row so now I'm going to have a sleepless night worrying about trying to get to the bottom. I'm really, really pleased with my progress this year. The first race this year, it's almost full circle for me now. My first oval race ever was Martinsville at the start of the year. I didn't know which way to go and what to do and who to see and who to be. We've come a long way since then. I fell much more comfortable inside the garage here and feel more comfortable on the track. I'm just really punching for my guys and JTG Racing. They've really supported me on the short track program. I have struggled. I've been the first to admit that I haven't been the greatest on the short tracks so far. I'm just pleased to start to turn that program around a little bit."

This was your first oval race this season. How has that helped you this time around at Martinsville? "Just coming to a track a second time has really helped me out. Kentucky was the first track that I tested on when I was trying out for this ride and that's a track we got our first pole on and that was the only track that I had some previous experience on. I really feel that it's helped me a lot here at Martinsville to run the track a second time. But really it's just laps I think that's giving me the edge compared to last time here, just knowing what I want from the truck in the practice session. Having some clue on what I'm looking for out there in practice sessions to get ready for the race and qualifying. It's just seat time and a great crew, good support around you. They back me up when the results haven't been there on the short track racing. They said it will come with experience and we're starting to turn that around. We're not there yet. There's a lot of learning and getting shuffled out of position tomorrow to come. I'm just really proud to be in here today and represent the guys."

What is the difference between kangaroo meat and crocodile meat? How do you cook the two? "With crocodile meat you've got to make it snappy otherwise you can overcook it . If you want the straight-up answer, kangaroo meat is not good tucker. It really isn't. you've got to get them young. We call them wallabies just so we don't call them babies. A kangaroo that's not two is called a wallabie and that's pretty good meat. Normally you've got to skewer it or make it into mince or something just to soften it up. You can imagine how stringy that meat is. It's full of muscle. It's not the greatest but we claim it because no one else can grow a kangaroo."

Chad McCumbee, No. 08 The GPS Store/Garmin Chevrolet: "It's always tough when you go out first. I tried to do everything but crash that warm up lap to get some heat in the tires. We tried a little different air pressure I think this time and it didn't seem like the thing got going quite as good as we wanted to. We've been struggling at the flat tracks so far this year. This has actually been a decent weekend for us. Hopefully that will transfer over to a real good finish."

Bobby East, No. 21 State Fair Corndogs/Edy's Dibs Ford: "We really didn't get a good lap and it's kind of frustrating because this truck is pretty good and these guys worked real hard. We just didn't get a good lap in. We'll start in the back and we're going to try to get a good finish out of it."

Erin Crocker, No. 98 Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge: "We didn't get to do a mock run in practice but I think we have a good truck. I struggle a little bit on the short tracks, especially qualifying. I probably should have had a better lap than that but I'm excited for the race. I think we'll be all right. I struggle a little bit on the short tracks qualifying so I need to work on that a little bit more."

Aric Almirola, No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet: "That was a decent lap. The truck was pretty, pretty loose. That will be really good for the race."

Robert Richardson, No. 1 Winyourmortgage.com Chevrolet: "The sun is trying to go down and it's hard to see coming out of Turn 4. We just kind of made the most out of what we had. We were a little loose coming off but then the longer we ran there it got better and better. I think that will be good enough to make it in the show. In race setup today we were pretty good from the center off and that's where you need to be good at a place like this because everybody is going to be washing up in the center of the corner later in the race. We'll make the most out of what we've got and see what tomorrow has in store for us."

Erik Darnell, No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford: "That's a pretty decent lap for us. Our truck has been pretty good all day. John Quinn and all the guys did a good job. We unloaded and we were pretty good. We were decent in race trim, didn't really know what it was going to do in qualifying trim. I don't know where we'll end up with that lap but all in all it should end up being a top-10 run and we're looking to go have a good run in the race tomorrow."

Kerry Earnhardt, No. 13 Thorsport Chevrolet: "The truck was all over the track, really. The track got a lot slicker as soon as the sun went down. It's gotten a lot slicker than what it was in practice and we run a lot slower than what we ran in practice. We're really not happy with it but we'll be in the race and try to charge to the front. The truck was pretty decent in practice. It's just hard to believe that the track changed that much."