January 27, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
Did you know that Marcos Ambrose is not the first Australian racecar driver to compete in NASCAR? In fact, he's the eighth, though he is no doubt the most popular and recognizable among them.
I suspect there may be a lot you don't know about the appealing Aussie, who's busy preparing for his first full-time Cup season. But the 32-year-old married father of two is wildly popular down home, where he was just voted Australian Driver of the Year for the second time.
Working his way up through the NASCAR ranks from trucks in 2006 to the Nationwide series the past two seasons, Ambrose is now poised to compete full-time at the Cup level in the No. 47 car for JTG Daugherty Racing.
I had a chance to visit one-on-one with Ambrose during his recent trip to Phoenix, where he was making preparations to be the first Australian competing in the Daytona 500.
"We're here in Phoenix doing some straight-line testing, just checking the motors and the draft from the car to try and get an advantage for when we go to Daytona," said Ambrose with his charming Aussie accent. "All the leading teams are doing something like this. We're not alone. Joe Gibbs Racing will be at this facility and certain others, too. All the race teams are doing their preparations the best they can, but basically, I put my hand up to come. Normally, you know, the lead drivers wouldn't do a test like this, but because there is no testing this year, I just wanted to get back behind the wheel of a car and go 180 miles per hour again and just go through the motion."
So, testing during a testing ban?
"It is a ban, but we're testing other ways, at non-sanctioned tracks and straight-line testing like we're doing here. We're running at Toyota's Proving Grounds and it's a ten-mile oval. Race teams will spend the money. No matter what restrictions you put on them, they'll try and get an advantage and that's what we're in
business for. We're all trying to find our advantage."
Though NASCAR's goal in banning testing at league-sanctioned tracks was to help teams save money during the economic crisis, Ambrose believes the ban may have had the opposite effect. "There's always that balance between how far you try to control the teams, because then everything you do becomes more expensive to try and get that advantage. If you open up tracks to test on, well then it's easy for people to go and it doesn't cost a lot of money. We wouldn't come 3000 miles cross-country to go and test - we'd just go down to Talladega and test."
While straight-line testing may help teams glean data regarding downforce and wind resistance, it won't do much to help Ambrose practice the real-time drafting skills he'll need at Daytona. "I've never raced at the Cup level in a drafting race and those guys really know what they're doing," he said. "It's going to take a lot to not feel out of place, but I've got as good an opportunity as anyone to go out there and do well. I'm really looking forward to it."
Ambrose, who's competed four times at Daytona in the Nationwide Series with a best finish of 16th, is anxious to show what he can do in the draft this year. "I feel ready for it - as ready as you can be. There's always going to be a moment where you have to make that jump and make the transition work. But I feel like I'm in a good place with a great team, a great car, and a lot of help to get me there and get me comfortable. At the end of the day, drafting is all about being aggressive and being comfortable and confident."
One thing Ambrose won't have to worry about at Daytona is NASCAR's top-35 qualifying rule. Though the No. 47 car is owned by JTG Daugherty Racing, the team has a technical alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing, providing the No. 47 with last year's owner's points from the No. 00 of David Reutimann, who finished the season ranked 22nd.
The JTG/MWR collaboration not only locks Ambrose into the field for the first five races, it also pairs him with Michael Waltrip, a three-time winner of the Daytona 500. Has Waltrip shared any drafting secrets with his new teammate yet? "I haven't asked," Ambrose laughed. "It's not one of those things that you really want to go and just bombard him. You know, it will come out in time. The closer we get to the event, the more I'll soak his brain. The Gatorade Duels will be a great place for me to try and buddy up if we're in the same race together, so he has some confidence that I'll try and work with him and push him to the front, hopefully."
Aside from providing built-in drafting partners, Ambrose is thrilled with the benefits of operating out of the MWR shop. "It's an interesting combination because JTG Daugherty are my team owners, but in reality I'll be driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. It's his car, it's his people, it's his technology and engineering, and the other two drivers that I'm going to be working with are Michael Waltrip Racing drivers. So it's very unique and a great way for JTG Daugherty and myself to get into the Cup level at a very high position. We're already with an existing group that's got all the infrastructure and technology in place and I think it's just a great marriage between what JTG Daugherty is trying to do and what Michael Waltrip Racing has built and created and is trying to keep together. Like all race teams, it's been a tough road the last few months, and Michael Waltrip Racing was ahead of the curve with a great partnership. I think it's going to be great for both parties."
While hoping for success in the Cup series this year, Ambrose is thrilled that he's been able raise to the level of awareness about NASCAR in his native Australia. "When I was growing up, NASCAR wasn't covered at all in Australia. Now, it's getting there. I feel like I'm doing my part in spreading the word. NASCAR on TV has really taken hold down there now and people are really starting to understand the sport. It's always intrigued me because I'm a racecar fan and I knew about NASCAR, but I think the casual fan of racing didn't really understand what NASCAR was all about. I've been able to help educate anyone who's interested about how tough it is and how unique it is and how special it is. To run well here, you've got to really be on top of your game."
For the past two years, Ambrose has offered a small group of Aussie race fans an unprecedented look at NASCAR from the inside out. The Marcos Ambrose Viva Las Vegas Tour will bring 30 Australian fans to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway again this March to spend the weekend with Ambrose. They'll attend NASCAR qualifying, the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races, a World of Outlaws race, and a host of off-track activities including a private dinner with Ambrose, a private poker tournament, and a customized go-karting event.
"It's great," said Ambrose of the tour. "We just do one a year and normally we bring them out to the west coast because it's easier for them to get to. It really spreads the word. Every person who sees NASCAR in real life will tell ten people how great it was. I have a lot of fans down home and it just gives them the opportunity to get a once-in-a-lifetime experience."
While Australian race fans are already knowledgeable about their most popular racecar driver, I wondered whether there was anything he thinks American fans need to know about him. "I don't like koalas, especially ones that talk back to me on TV," he laughed, poking fun at a series of TV commercials for sponsor Little Debbie featuring a wisecracking koala bear that sat on his shoulder. But seriously, he added, "Look, I feel like I've been really well-portrayed here in America. The media in general have taken to me and haven't put me in a bad light and I've been able to get really who I am across."
As far as goals for this season, Ambrose is determined to compete as hard as he can each week and to be there at the end of the season. "I want to pay back everyone who's given me the chance to do what I'm doing."
NASCAR fans will get a much closer look at Ambrose throughout the year as he runs full-time in the Cup series.
I predict you're going to like what you see.
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