Australian NASCAR ace Marcos Ambrose finished in a commendable 14th place racing out of his comfort zone on the fast Eldora Speedway in the Gillette Young Guns Prelude to the Dream in Ohio today.
Ambrose finished on the lead lap in an encouraging performance for the Sprint Cup Series regular in a star-studded field of 23 drivers in the high-profile charity event in front of over 23,000 fans and a significant television audience.
Ambrose, driving a Kingsford-backed Late Model, trails fellow Sprint Cup stars David Reutimann and Kevin Harvick at the half-mile Eldora Speedway
The race was won by Eldora Speedway owner and event organiser Tony Stewart, who currently leads the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, with Clint Bowyer second and Kyle Busch third.
For Ambrose it was a baptism of fire running an 850-horsepower Late Model machine around the high-banks of the fast half-mile dirt speedway, racing against drivers who grew up on dirt track racing.
Ambrose’s racing education came on the asphalt kart tracks and racing circuits of Tasmania, but now as a NASCAR regular the 33-year-old was invited by Stewart to participate in the HBO Pay-Per-View event, an honour in itself for Ambrose in his fourth season in NASCAR competition since leaving Australia after two V8 Supercar championship wins.
The Prelude to the Dream is staged at the Tony Stewart-owned Eldora Speedway and raises over US$1million for military-themed charities
“Well, you’ve pretty much got to turn right to go left and you use the throttle to steer it and the brake to turn it into the corner,” said Ambrose.
“So it was a blast. The cars are not easy to drive. They have over 850 horsepower and they’re pretty light. It keeps you busy for the entire race.”
The Prelude to the Dream is an annual Late Model event involving NASCAR stars as well as other North American motorsport personalities.
Tonight’s fifth running of the event raised over US$1million for military-themed charities, with Stewart winning the event for the third time, with Carl Edwards and Kenny Wallace the other race winners in the event’s history.
“It’s pretty select territory up there and you’ve got to get invited by one of the best drivers in the Sprint Cup Series, so it was just great to be part of it,” said Ambrose.
Ambrose will this weekend line-up for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway aboard the #47 Clorox entry of JTG Daugherty Racing.
“Richmond is a track I enjoy racing because it is a short track that feels like a mile-and-a-half track. It’s just really fast and smooth,” said Ambrose.
Ambrose finished in 11th place in May this year at the 0.75-mile D-shaped oval and is keen to improve on his four top-five and seven top10 finishes already this season.
