Ambrose relieved to make Cup race

Ambrose had probably put more pressure on him before qualifying by setting the pace in the morning practice session at the wheel of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford Fusion, but he was able to replicate his pace on his flying lap to get seventh on the grid for his Sprint Cup debut.

"Just relieved, man," said the former Australian V8 Supercar champion. "Just like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I hear these guys, they qualify in every week, saying, 'Oh, it's pressure.' It is. It's just massive.

"It was harder to qualify than what it was to line up with one race to go to try and win a championship in Australia. The pressure was just intense. One lap, three corners to warm up, go or go home. Four thousand miles. First Cup race, all that kind of stuff.

"Even going fast in practice, I mean, it added more, because you expect to get in there. It's just been an awesome day. I feel like I've just survived a marathon of stress and anxiety. I'm just going to enjoy it from here on in for the rest of the weekend."

Ambrose was making just his first attempt to qualify for a Cup race. He was entered in a Robby Gordon Motorsports' car last year at Watkins Glen but qualifying was rained out and he was denied a shot at making the race.

He admits he was not very optimistic about his chances of qualifying this weekend but instead he will now have to stay at Sonoma for Saturday practice before heading back to Milwaukee to compete at night in the Nationwide Series event.

"I never even thought I was going to be here on Sunday," he said. "I was just so negative all through the day, so anxious and nervous, just because you can't afford to get confident, because if you get confident, you're going to make mistakes.

"I'll sleep good tonight. I've had a lot of worry and stress this week. I had a lot of expectation, ambition and desire to really make a difference here today, and we've just had a fantastic day."

Ambrose's seventh place on the grid is the best for an Australian in the Sprint Cup Series since Dick Johnson qualified eleventh for his debut at Sonoma in 1989.