AP News, April 11th, 2007
Marcos Ambrose could have stayed in Australia, racing cars and earning nice paychecks. Maybe buy a boat, a farm and settle down with his new wife. Instead, he came to the United States to pursue his dream of becoming a NASCAR driver. His biggest problem? He should have emigrated sooner.
The 31-year-old Ambrose is sixth in the NASCAR Busch Series points standings after seven races and is the series' top non-Nextel Cup driver. He's the top rookie after finishing 17th at the Nashville Superspeedway last weekend, well ahead of former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, who sat out the race.
"Now the goal posts have moved," Ambrose said.
"I've got to build my experience levels, my confidence levels. I still don't quite feel like I belong here. I'm such a fan and respect it so much. I'm really pleased to be here, pleased to be a part of it."
Ambrose grew up a fan of racing. But for a boy from Launceston, Tasmania _ the island south of Australia _ becoming a fan of NASCAR, with its roots in the American South, took work and dedication.
His father had been a racer who once tested himself in Europe. But he was in the hotel business by the time his son showed an interest in racing, pushing his father to let him drive go-karts in a racing community small enough that Ambrose was one of 12 go-kart racers.
"Occasionally, we traveled to the mainland, the big island, and raced against those mainland drivers, got our butts whipped and went home," Ambrose said. "After a couple years of that, I decided to work out what I needed to do and how I needed to be better."
That he did. He won four Tasmanian Junior karting titles and moved to senior competition by the age of 16.
The man nicknamed "Devil Racer" went to England in 1996 to see if he could reach the Formula One circuit, and did well enough to win the 1999 British Formula Ford title.
He returned home and signed with Ford and Stone Brothers Racing for the V8 Supercar Series in 2001, which is similar to the Trans-Am Series in the United States. He won 27 races and the series title in 2003 and 2004.
But go-karts and road racing were the only choices in Australia.
Ambrose, who had followed NASCAR through magazines, started watching it seriously in 2000 when cable feeds finally came through. In 2003, he got a ticket through Ford to watch a NASCAR race in Bristol, Tenn., in person.
He was hooked.
"The first practice I was like, 'Wow, look at those guys. I've got to be a part of this," Ambrose said.
Ford officials partnered him with the Wood brothers as hosts, but no offer was forthcoming. Ambrose even drove a few laps at the Richard Petty Driving Experience and raced at the 24 hours of Daytona before deciding in March 2005 to give himself three years to either make it in NASCAR or go home.
Ambrose had no contract. Sonja, his new wife, was three months pregnant. But Ambrose said trying to race in NASCAR was like trying to climb his own Mt. Everest.
"Is it brave? Probably. Was it insane? Most likely," Ambrose said. "You've got to commit to yourself. Once you do that, it's an easy decision."
His big chance came when Tad Geschickter, co-owner of Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, invited Ambrose to test at Kentucky Speedway. Two months later, Ambrose had a contract.
Ambrose raced in the truck series in 2006 and finished 21st with two top fives and four top 10s. His best results were thirds at Kansas and Nashville.
He's had two top 10s in the Busch Series, including an eighth-place finish at the Telcel-Motorola 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course in Mexico.
Ambrose is driving a car sponsored by Kingsford Charcoal, the longest tenured sponsor on the Busch Series. Aussie Vineyards is sponsoring him in two Nextel Cup races, at Sonoma in June and Watkins Glen in August.
"They wanted to do 10 races in Cup. I was, 'No, No. Let's just do the two road courses,'" Ambrose said. "Then if and when I feel, and the team feels like, 'Yeah, we're ready,' then we'll do that. Let's not jump at that."
Ambrose has his wife and 16-month-old daughter, Tabitha, with him and a small home in Charlotte, N.C. The family travels with him to about 15 races a year, having fun as tourists in a country Ambrose never dreamed he'd visit.
His favorite places are Colorado Springs and Watkins Glen, which reminds him a bit of home.
"You've got cattle galore. More land than you can poke a stick at," Ambrose said. "I come from Australia, where you've only got 50k or 50 miles of decent land, then it's desert."
If Ambrose wins, look for an Aussie twist to the celebration, perhaps a kangaroo hop or a reverse doughnut. For a guy who started out just hoping to hang around, he now has higher expectations.
"Now I want to win. It's shifted very, very quickly," he said.
