Marcos Ambrose worked hard to earn that headline in one of the toughest and most competitive series in the world of motor sport.
NASCAR’s road course event at Watkins Glen and Sonoma allowed Ambrose to show the driving skills acquired over years of racing.
Ambrose and the RPM team in Victory lane © 2011, autostock, USA Brian Czobat
Starting in karts in Tasmania, through open wheel development categories in Australia and Europe, the Formula One dream ran out of money and Ambrose returned home.
Marcos made the switch to touring cars and quickly impressed, with pole position in his first ever V8 Supercar race. He soon earned the coveted number 1 on his Stone Brothers Ford Falcon, but the quest for international success still burned inside the racer from Launceston.
Marcos Ambrose at Symmons Plains in a V8 Supercar
The strong links forged with Ford after delivering them long overdue V8 success at home helped open some doors in NASCAR and he started in NASCAR truck racing as the first step on his way to the top level Cup series.
Marcos Ambrose with the winner's trophy at Watkins Glenn (c)2011, Nigel Kinrade Autostock
While the oval tracks were completely different from Ambrose’s driver development he has adapted to the heavier and more powerful cars and the oval track techniques.
On the few road course events Ambrose soon showed his talent with a string of high placings and Nationwide series wins at Watkins Glen. Finally he has achieved his first Cup series win and the challenge is to take the confidence from this win and win on an oval.
One of the biggest differences between road racing and the ovals is adjusting the car. In V8 Supercars Ambrose could adjust the brake bias, and the front and rear anti-roll (sway) bars from the drivers seat. This is done all through a run as the car’s weight balance changes with the lightening fuel load in the rear. Full course cautions are far less common, so V8 Supercar drivers have to adjust their driving technique during a race rather than the car.
Moving to NASCAR Ambrose lost most of of his in car adjustments and had to deal with different adjusting techniques performed by the pit crew. In NASCAR full course cautions are common and are part of the race plan. An important part of a NASCAR driver’s job is to work with their crew chief to find the right adjustments for the car during the pit stops in the race. While driving on an oval is relatively simple, the driver is kept busy analysing the cars handling the changing track conditions.
Ambrose making a pit stop in his NASCAR truck days Photo Credit: autostock
Media Coverage
Naturally the local mass media love the story their obsession with exaggeration and hyperbole shone through any regard for facts. The Hobart Mercury’ James Bresnehan went overboard claiming Ambrose earned a million dollars for the win. The first place purse fro Watkins Glen is more like $US217,741 according to Jayski. What Ambrose’s win did do was qualify him for the for a chance to earn a $3 million payout in the Sprint Summer Showdown. Here the money is split between the team, a fan and the driver’s nominated charity.
The spectacular crash at the end of the race played well on television overshadowing the really scary Denny Hamlin crash. Fortunately for Hamlin the lessons learnt from Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash have been applied, particularly the Head and Neck Support (HANS) device, and Hamlin walked away.
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