So, is Ambrose the real deal?

[pitlanenews]

Here's one for the Aussies and Busch supporters out there.

Marcos Ambrose finished eighth at the weekend's road course race, so what can we read into that?

Clearly, it shows he can steer a NASCAR, we already knew he could drive a road course. But how will it translate to ovals?

He's shown some promise to date, but can he really cut it in the top level of motorsport's greatest series?

Cheers
Greg Johnson

[Robert Ryan]

Well being 6th in the BGN pointscore after only 24 oval (having no prior oval experience) and one roadracing starts in Stockcars. Passing 16 cars from the back of the field at California Speedway in a car which was not set up for the oval. Coming from 24th to 8th in the same time as Scott Pruett in Mexico; having a qualifying speed which would have given P3 or P2 if he had not been baulked. I would say he is getting there.
He is improving faster in NASCAR, then he ever did in V8Supercar, the next ten races will show how much he has learned from the Truck experience(training wheels period)
If he get another top ten withing the next 5 races he is on his way.

[GayParis]

I agree. With anything in the world, he's getting there and will improve with more experience. As long as he can communicate to his race partners on what feels good and what doesn't, he'll have fun.

[Speedworx]

I think Marcos is performing brilliantly. Maybe better the JPM, who has a better team behind him.

[tassiedevilAB]

He is doing a better job than most aussies that actually had oval track experience & went over there to compete!
You guys havn't seen the best of him yet, Once he gets a handle on the short tracks or as i call them bullrings, he will improve out of site.
This is why Marcos got the nod over americans at Woodbros/jtg. he had the right attitude & willpower to succeed at driving something completely different to what he was use to. & that endorsement was from Eddie Wood!

[tassiedevilAB]

This is from his web site!


Marcos Ambrose has risen to fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings after a remarkable comeback to finish eighth in the Telcel Motorola Mexico 200 in Mexico City today.

Ambrose had the chance for an even better result slip away on lap 64 when he was spun while racing within the lead pack in sixth position, dropping him to 24th position and setting the scene for a remarkable comeback, culminating in Ambrose passing seven cars in the final two laps.

Ambrose collected US$53,820 (A$68,674) in prizemoney for his efforts in today’s Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 out of a total prize pool of US$2,512,372 (A$3,169,785).

Ambrose got off to a strong start in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion, muscling his way to seventh by the end of the first lap after qualifying in 12th position.

The two-time Australian V8 Supercar Champion made his first of two pit stops on lap 12 and from there on ran in about sixth or seventh position as he diced with NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers and fellow Ford stars Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Boris Said.

Ambrose was as high as fifth shortly after his second pit stop and was comfortably with the lead pack in sixth position when his chances of a top five result were taken away.

Ambrose was hit from behind by JJ Yeley in Turn Three on lap 64, Ambrose pointing out after the race that the car of Biffle directly ahead of him had slowed slightly, resulting in Ambrose checking up and that Yeley had little time to react and was not to blame – it was just one of those things that happens in NASCAR road course racing.

Both Ambrose and Yeley spun in front of almost the entire field, and the Australian dropped back to 24th, his #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion lucky not to be hit by another car as the field streamed past.

His progress back through the pack was sensational as his road racing talents shone, but a series of caution periods for late-race incidents thwarted his efforts.

Ambrose had reached 15th when the caution flag flew on the final lap, creating a ‘green-white-chequered’ finish, NASCAR giving the field an opportunity at two clear laps of racing before the finish.

In those two laps Ambrose passed an amazing seven cars to finish in eighth, gain his first NASCAR Busch Series top 10 result and finish as the second-highest Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender behind race winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ambrose rises to an outstanding fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, equal with defending series champ Kevin Harvick who did not race in Mexico, as well as maintaining his lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

It was a strong road course result for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, with both Ford Fusions in the top 10 as Jon Wood drove a smart and consistent race to finish 10th.

Today’s Telcel Motorola Mexico 200 was won by former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya in front of an estimated crowd of 72,971 after a controversial incident with his team-mate Scott Pruett, with defending race winner Denny
Hamlin second and noted NASCAR road racer Boris Said in third.

That was a good result for him even though he knew he missed out on a top 5 result at Mexico!

[jslone]

Until he wins he is not the real deal.Good driver but the real deal give me a break.

[Cole_Trickle]

...and that win being on an Oval, same Goes for JPM really..

[Osella]

Well, as someone who saw Marcos race before he was a Touring Car driver (And had a lot more hair!), I wasn't really sure if he would make it in the Australian V8 championship, but he is a very talented driver, he showed a lot of UK drivers the way to go on circuits in the UK in Formula Ford single-seaters despite having much less experience of the tracks.

So he was able to won an open-wheel single-seater 2.0 Litre downforce-free championship in Europe and almost the UK series in the same season, move to Australia and be one of the very top drivers in the Tin-top, V8, big-wings Aussie V8's in a couple of years (unlike a lot of other drivers who came into Aussie V8's at the time like Max Wilson and Craig Baird) and not only that, but he's put in some damn fine performances in the Porsche Supercup (911 GT3's) on the odd occasion he's driven guest cars.

So yeah, I'd say he's the real deal! No question. As soon as he's learnt the track's he will really start showing some guys up I feel. :up:

[Sparky1329]

I think Marcos is coming along pretty well. I like that he's approaching the learning process in deliberate steps up as opposed to the Trial by Fire that AJ Almendinger has been thrown into.

[RJL25]

hes got the right attitude. He realised before he even went over to the states that it was going to be a completely different world and driving a stock car was going to be completely alien to anything he has ever done before. He started small in the trucks but he slowly built up speed and confidence, learning all the way, by seasons end he was reasonably competitive and was showing guys with years of oval racing experience the way to drive a car which was fairly impressive. If he can continue on this learning curve and continue to improve at the same rate he currently is, theres no reason he couldnt make a nice career for himself in the cup series

for mine, hes been more impressive then JPM so far, i mean yeah JPM has shown how much talent he has, but he has been rash and immature aswell, which kinda sums up his F1 career aswell! Ambrose on the other hand has show almost as much talent, but has also shown he is a very mature, consistant and professional driver. His fight back in the last race really sums it all up!

Also lets consider that he is 5th in the standings in only his second year in the states! Before he came over here he had never driven ANYTHING on an oval! never even seen one in person! JPM on the other hand had extensive experience on ovals, yeah sure it was in a completely different kind of car, but its still more then ambrose had! very impressive

[tassiedevilAB]

He has also made Jon Wood a better driver, seeing that Stacy might not of rated very high in Jon's mind. But with Marcos in Busch now, Jon has got more pressure in him to try to beat his team mate, that Jon rates highly as a driver & also as a coach to teach him on road courses, that coaching is already paying off for Jon! Doesn't Jon usually wreck on RC. but it would be good if Jon could do the same for Marcos on Ovals?

Marcos has stated lately that Ovals is what excites him & wan'ts to do better on them, eventho he has to race on the RC, he said that ovls are his passion & he want's to conqure them!

That tells us that he isn't satisfied at his drivng on them & he is determined that they will be conqured.
That means some good racing should be instore for his admirers & fans. bring it on Marcos!

[tassiedevilAB]

He certainly does have the right atitude!

Ambrose, who finished seventh last season in the truck series event at the newly-reconfigured Las Vegas Motor Speedway, spoke about the start of his season and this weekend’s Sam’s Town 300.

QUESTION: HEADING INTO THE SEASON, DID YOU THINK YOU’D HAVE A TOP-FIVE START IN THE POINT STANDINGS?

MARCOS AMBROSE: “No, not in my wildest dreams did I think we’d get off to such a solid start. We just wanted to finish races early on in the season. We did that and we’ve been conservative and we haven’t set a blistering pace, but we’ve been knocking off solid results and finishes, and here we are.

I don’t know if we’re going to stay there very long, but it’s nice to get off to a good start because it takes off the pressure off of being in the top 35 in points after five races.”

Q: YOU WERE FORCED TO SIT OUT THE FIRST THREE RACES OF THE TRUCK SEASON LAST YEAR, SO YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW IS YOUR MINDSET DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?

MA: “It’s huge because it gives you the opportunity to start with everybody and build a base. That’s what we couldn’t do in the truck series. We never felt like we had a base to work from because we missed those first three races.

It’s a huge thing mentally to accept that you are never going to get into the top 10 in points even if you win a bunch of races. That’s where I’m coming from. We can build a base because we started the season with everybody and we’ve got something to work from.

Already, we’ve got a nice platform to work from, but we’ve got to get into a quarter of the season before we can start to say that we have a real base to work from. But, it’s a great start and we hope to keep it running.”

Q: AS A NEWCOMER TO THE SERIES, DO YOU FEEL A TOP-FIVE START TO THE SEASON GIVES YOU ADDED RESPECT FROM YOUR COMPETITORS?

MA: “Probably not, because to gain their respect you’ve got to perform on the race track. The important thing is to run fast and run well in the races.

I guess Mexico helped us get some credit there on the road-course racing, but we have to match that for the ovals. My focus right is to have a couple of solid runs on the ovals and build some confidence there and get the respect that way.”

Q: THE SERIES HEADS TO LAS VEGAS THIS WEEKEND, A TRACK THAT WAS RECONFIGURED LAST YEAR. CAN YOU COMMENT ON YOUR TEST SESSION THERE LAST MONTH?

MA: “It’s a tough one, someone like myself – a rookie – trying to compete in Busch racing at a place like Las Vegas. We had a good test. We ran strong and in the top 10 both days, but I’ve got a lot to learn and I don’t feel comfortable yet on the ovals, as much as I should.

When I’m doing a fast lap, I’m holding my breath, so I hope to get over that hurdle sooner rather than later and start to feel confident going into these oval races.”

Q: YOU RAN THE TRUCK SERIES RACE AT LAS VEGAS LAST YEAR AFTER THE TRACK WAS RECONFIGURED. WILL THAT BE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE?

MA: “I think it neutralizes itself out. The Cup regulars are going to be doing twice as many laps in practice than I will, so you can’t say that they’re not going to have enough laps on the race track considering we’ve already done two days of testing there. I think it’s going to balance out to nothing.

I feel like I’m not going in with any advantage into Vegas compared to California.”


This does not sound like a guy with a big head , just one that knows he has a long way to go !

[Osella]

And now a top-10 finish at Las Vegas too! :up:

[harvick#1]

I'm surprised to see Ambrose run this good in just his first year in a car,

just shows how much just one year at least in the Trucks will do for a guy. he appears to be miles ahead of Montoya and he Marcos is running with a underfunded (compared to Cup Programs) and running very well against them.

alot of guys wrecked, but Ambrose kept his coo, got lucky, and has a very deserving top 10 finish :up:

[Robert Ryan]

alot of guys wrecked, but Ambrose kept his coo, got lucky, and has a very deserving top 10 finish
It is a similar process to what he did in V8Supercar. At first got a few good results, then started to string them together, his strategy at how to attack the tracks also improved, the same process should be happening in BGN. .. Interestingly he said he was stilled scared of the ovals, although he loves driving on them. Hopefully that will pass by midseason.

[Osella]

Interestingly he said he was stilled scared of the ovals, although he loves driving on them. Hopefully that will pass by midseason.

Hope not! A little fear makes you go faster.
If you start being too blasé, that's when accidents happen. I don't think anyone who's raced at Le Mans wasn't scared of racing there at night (esp. in the rain!), but it's mastering the fear that counts; same with speedways.

[tassiedevilAB]

Osella how perceptive of you , that is what drives him to do better on the ovals , a little bit of fear is actually a good thing when driving in the heat of battle , because it keeps you focused on the job at hand, isn't it really called an adrenalin rush. When you are blaze at racing that hit doesn't get you up & the mind can do strange things when it is to relaxed, you see it time & time again when someone has gotten to the front to easy, instead of having to fight for every position that you have made up! Then wambmo! he is either off the track or in Nascar into the wall! But the driver that went off at the corner all of a sudden it got his notice & that is when you see him focosed again & driving like he want's to get back to the front!

[jslone]

And now a top-10 finish at Las Vegas too! :up:

Is it a win,I think not.

[veeten]

Is it a win,I think not.

true, but it shows good progress considering he's new to the Nextel/Busch Cup side of NASCAR. The time in Craftsman Trucks has done a lot for him. :)

Keep putting up finishes like this and higher and other teams will take notice, maybe even offer him better deals. ;) :)

[jslone]

Veeten,I will give him credit cus he is doing it with equipment thats not necessarily the best in the Busch series,so if he does happen to land a ride in the Busch series top teams,how will he fare?Right now he is the top dog for his team,if he goes that route,he'll be second tier or worse depending on how many drivers that team has,he had better stay put.

[Robert Ryan]

Right now he is the top dog for his team,if he goes that route,he'll be second tier or worse depending on how many drivers that team has,he had better stay put.
On his experience so far, he has been performing far better than his experienced(ovals) team mates. If he gets picked up by a bigger team then his experience and results will increase.

[djarumdudley]

i'm looking forward to seeing what he can do against the Cup guys on the road courses this year. does he have any ovals scheduled this year?
give him some more experience and Ambrose might be the future for the Wood Bros., not Jon Wood.

[jslone]

if he sticks with the Brothers,that would be great for the bros,they need someone to get them pack into the elite teams that people will talk about.

[jslone]

bumping this up for the newbies

[tassiedevilAB]

AMBROSE & MONTOYA COULD HAVE A HARD TIME ON THIS BULLRING. They are both sitting in a very bad position when the demo derby begins, 36 th & 34th is not a very good start in a crucial part of the championship, if the 2 of them can get a good result & have all 4 wheels on the cars at the end then i will be happy for both of them! If not the season will slip away for both of them!

[race aficionado]

AMBROSE & MONTOYA COULD HAVE A HARD TIME ON THIS BULLRING. They are both sitting in a very bad position when the demo derby begins, 36 th & 34th is not a very good start in a crucial part of the championship, if the 2 of them can get a good result & have all 4 wheels on the cars at the end then i will be happy for both of them! If not the season will slip away for both of them!

Bad brake for Ambose and fortunately my man Juan styed out of trouble.

fourteenth on his first short oval aint bad.

. . . . . and by the way, this was also technically my first oval - what a trip! When I turned on the television and saw the size of the track and the size of the crowd I felt like a little kid that gets all excited when he sees something new. . . . . and also somewhat dangerous :p

All the bumping and rubbing and crowding up as they were lapping was also something new for me . . . . and of course for Juan.

pretty wild and exciting.

:s mokin:

and by the way, these two rookies are 6th and 7th on the standings now.

[tassiedevilAB]

Hi racaf, Marcos was lucky to get anything today, this is what he said!

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion

“You have days like this in motorsport,” said Ambrose.

“We got hit early and it did plenty of damage to the car. We got it back together as much as we could and went back out there to circulate to get some points.

“Once we were back out there we just tried to stay out of everyone’s way and make sure the car got to the finish.

“It was a wild race today so we managed to climb up the order as people dropped out. We are still seventh in points so that’s something to take out of the weekend.

“After practice it was all looking good. It turned out to be a day to forget for the team but we will bounce back.

“It was really difficult after the incident because I was just trying to stay out of the way.

“You’re on the bottom groove and all the marbles and you’re clipping the apron all the time trying to keep out of the way and it was just a long, long day.

“We just kept ticking off those race laps and somehow finished with a 28th place.

“I was trying to do the right thing up there, but you can’t help it when someone just knocks you out.”


If he could have got a better finish say in the top10 without being hit by( Leffler the wrecker) he could be back in 5th place, did you see how many spots Monty jumped today, from 10th in the standings to 6th & he didn't finish even in the top10 just 14th, so yeah Marcos was even lucky to even finish!

that Mex race & this one has been 2 bad races, that could have had him in 3rd place easily by now!

That would have been a great start to his rookie season, this is alright but not as good as he should be!

go aussie go !!!!!!!!!!

[Robert Ryan]

that Mex race & this one has been 2 bad races, that could have had him in 3rd place easily by now
You make your own luck racing. He did not say anything about sinking to 34th or 36th in qualifying..very quiet about that. I think the team are in a hole and need to lift.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Not qualifying well in NASCAR isn't nearly the issue it would be in other forms of racing. If you make the race, you can improve and get into the top 10 by having a good crew chief. The team is in a hole because the Wood's have been in the same hole as a group for years. Their salad days are behind them, and for Marcos to get he results he has had with them have been great, but qualfying poorly is more a reflection on the Wood's than on Marcos.

[The Phantom]

This weekend Busch Cup races at Nashville Superspeedway - Ambrose took a third place finish there in the F150 last year, so could have a good race.

“For some reason, on those concrete tracks, I get a good feel on them. I ran well at Dover, and I just feel like I can feel the car advancing on the concrete tracks. Nashville being slightly smaller than a one-and-a-half-mile speedway – like Lowe’s or Texas – I think is good for me, too, because the speed is slightly slower and you can be more aggressive behind the wheel."

My money is on one of the better teams picking him up for 2008... he may well be ready to fight for a tp 3 finish then. Or, perhaps go to Nextel fulltime in 2008.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Ambrose is currenty the highest in the points among non-Cup drivers in the Busch series.

He's with the Woods brothers under Ford's wing, so if he continues this I could see him replacing Ken Schrader as the part-timer in Cup next year, or more likely running one more year in Busch.

I'm not sure where he'd go in terms of a full time Cup ride next year...Maybe replace Rudd in the #88? There's the aforementioned Wood Bros. car, but they already have a rookie they are grooming for that ride. Maybe the Wood Bros. will expand, if they have a sponsor it could well happen.

All that aside, is there any plan to run MA in a Cup car this year? Road course, or end of the season on an oval?

[Cole_Trickle]

He plans to run the Road Courses in Cup, and up to 8 (or was it 10?) other races, somehow I don't think any/many of the oval races will happen, then if he tries to get in, qualifying could keep him out anyway. However, I do hope he does do it :)

[tassiedevilAB]

He just loves these concrete ovals?

07/04/2007

AMBROSE MAKES SOLID START TO NASHVILLE WEEKEND


Marcos Ambrose has made a solid start to proceedings for the Pepsi 300 with a strong run in practice at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee today.

Ambrose was 16th fastest in both main practice sessions in the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion at Nashville as well as fourth fastest in rookie practice.

In both main sessions, the Australian was the second-fastest Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender.

Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford team kept improving the car over the course of the day’s practice and are confident of a strong run tomorrow.

Ambrose finished third at his last visit to the Nashville Superspeedway, gaining third in August last year at the concrete surfaced speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Ford drivers Carl Edwards and Stephen Leight topped both of today’s major practice sessions, with Shane Huffman fastest in Rookie Practice.

Qualifying will be run tomorrow and be followed by the Pepsi 300, the seventh race in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion

“It was a pretty good day overall and we did a lot of work on things over the day,” said Ambrose.

“The Kingsford car ran well and we were making gains as a team over the course of the day. If we keep this up the goal will be to qualify in the top 10 tomorrow.

“This track feels really good to drive and for whatever reason it suits my style quite well. I always feel comfortable around here and I’ve got a good feel for the car here in practice.

“It’s all looking good and with the way this team keeps improving I think we can look towards a good result tomorrow. We’ll certainly be giving it our very best effort.”

I HOPE HE HAS A BETTER RACE than "BRISTOL THE BULLRING"
HE DESERVES ANOTHER TOP10 FINISH

GO AUSSIE GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!