Marcos Ambrose has survived a rough and tumble Good Sam Club 500 from the Talladega Superspeedway in 19th position, after earlier leading the field on the biggest oval in NASCAR racing.
Ambrose's Stanley Ford Fusion ran near the front throughout the race, but after receiving damage in a late race incident, the Australian had to fight his way back from 28th to 19th on the last two laps of green flag racing.
The result elevates Ambrose up to 17th in the points standings.
"Man that was tough," Ambrose said.
"I am disappointed with the result but with everything that was going on out there and with as much stuff as happened, I am pretty thankful that we were just able to cross the finish line at the end.
"I would certainly have liked to done better for Ford and for Stanley and my guys, but we will move on from here."
After starting from 19th, Ambrose hooked up with his Richard Petty Motorsports team mate AJ Allmendinger for much of the early running.
The duo made a two tyre pit stop under the first debris caution of the day, with the pair at times playing a conservative strategy when the racing became too close for comfort at the front.
The next caution appeared when Joey Logano spun out as he tripped over the slow moving Trevor Bayne, with the team pitting for the second time.
Ambrose found himself on top of the leader board for three laps following on from the service, in the process picking up his first bonus point since Watkins Glen.
The caution lights flashed on shortly afterwards when Ryan Newman spun on the front stretch, with the next caution starting when Ambrose's drafting partner Allmendinger spun down the track into a pack including Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.
Once racing resumed, Ambrose dropped back to Allmendinger to form another connection, but that fell over when the number 43 blew a tyre, bringing out another caution.
Ambrose then spent a stint with Paul Menard glued to his rear bumper, with the combination also cracking the top-three.
Another caution flew for the spun car of Kasey Kahne, which saw Ambrose switch over to fellow Ford driver, and Daytona 500 winner, Bayne.
The pair put on a charge to the front, which saw Ambrose once again jump to third prior to Bobby Labonte spinning and collecting Kurt Busch with 15 laps to go.
Lurking in the lead pack backfired late in the race, with Regan Smith coming unstuck in a big way, hitting the outside wall and tagging Ambrose's car in the process.
After pitting twice to repair damage, Ambrose restarted as the last car on the lead lap, with only a two lap sprint remaining to the chequered flag.
Somehow Ambrose burrowed his way through the field to record a 19th place finish, with the race being won by Clint Bowyer after a thrilling last lap move.
Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series switches modes from the high banks and speeds of Talladega Speedway to the tight confines of Martinsville Speedway.
Good Sam Club 500 Review
Race Results
1. Clint Bowyer (Chevrolet)
2. Jeff Burton (Chevrolet)
3. Dave Blaney (Chevrolet)
4. Brad Keselowski (Dodge)
5. Brian Vickers (Toyota)
6. Kasey Kahne (Toyota)
7. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet)
8. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
9. Michael Waltrip (Toyota)
10. Martin Truex Jnr (Toyota)
19. Marcos Ambrose (Ford)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings (After race 32 of 36)
1. Carl Edwards (Ford) 2237 points
2. Matt Kenseth (Ford) 22223
3. Brad Keselowski (Dodge) 2219
4. Tony Stewart (Chevrolet) 2218
5. Kevin Harvick (Chevrolet) 2211
6. Kyle Busch (Toyota) 2197
7. Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet) 2187
8. Kurt Busch (Dodge) 2185
9. Dale Earnhardt Jnr (Chevrolet) 2163
10. Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet) 2155
17. Marcos Ambrose (Ford) 847
