MARCOS’S PROFILE:

Car Numbers:
#59 in NNS, #21 and #47 in NSCS

Teams: JTG Racing and Wood Brothers Racing

Date Of Birth:
1st September, 1976

Place Of Birth:
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

Lives:
Kannapolis, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Family:
Married to Sonja with daughters Tabitha and Adelaide

Height:
179cm

Weight:
81kg

Hobbies And Interets:
Golf, karting, dirt bikes, gold prospecting and fitness

About:
Marcos Ambrose is set for his biggest year yet in 2008, entering his third year in the enormous sport of NASCAR after establishing himself as a driver to watch during his first two seasons.

The likable Australian driver will pilot the #59 Kingsford Hickory Ford Fusion in his second full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for JTG Racing, owned by Jodi & Tad Geschickter. Ambrose is also scheduled to race four races in the #47 Little Debbie Ford Fusion for JTG Racing, as well as eight races for Wood Brothers Racing’s #21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion, both entries in the top-flight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, ensuring Ambrose will make his long-awaited Cup debut in 2008.

It was at an early age Ambrose showed signs of his motor racing ability & won four Tasmanian Junior karting titles before commencing senior competition at an age of 16. Leaving Australia to chase the elusive Formula One dream in England in 1996, he learned quickly & won regularly, but despite his success, Ambrose needed further financial backing to continue chasing his elusive F1 dream, so it was time to come home to Australia.

The Stone Brothers Racing team & Ford signed Ambrose in 2001 to compete in the V8 Supercar Championship Series & he backed up their confidence by sensationally earning pole for his first ever event at Albert Park & finishing eighth in the championship in his rookie season. Marcos earned four poles in his debut season, including pole at the biggest & most daunting race of the year at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. The 2002 season started with a bang with Ambrose snaring the pole position at Phillip Island before recording his debut race win in the first race. Marcos finished the year third in the standings.

With a new BA Ford Falcon, Ambrose gave the Ford team a great start to the 2003 season with victory in the first race of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. He followed this fantastic start with a third career win at Eastern Creek Raceway where he led Ford home to a memorable 1-2-3 at the Sydney track—Ford’s first clean sweep of the podium since Eastern Creek ‘97 and Ambrose’s first round win for the season. After 13 rounds in the 2003 V8 Supercar Series, Ambrose was presented with the driver’s series trophy, 102 points clear of second place.

In 2004, Ambrose continued to shine. He claimed three pole positions & five round wins and went into the final round at Eastern Creek with a virtually unbeatable lead. In the end he collected his second championship in the opening Saturday night race & then went on to clean-sweep the round in record-breaking style in his Pirtek Falcon.

He started 2005 the way he ended ‘04 with a clean sweep of the opening round in Adelaide. He remained in the championship lead until after round 11 at Bathurst when he was taken out of the race & settled for second in the final standings.

2006 offered a new opportunity to Ambrose as he embarked on his debut season in NASCAR. Joining forces with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, Ambrose performed strongly achieving his first pole position & two third place finishes in a season that included nine top ten qualifying positions & four top ten finishes. Ambrose, driving the #20 Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150, made his mark in his debut season, leading to a promotion into the NASCAR Busch Series for 2007.

Ambrose made history in 2007, becoming the first non-North American driver to finish in the top 10 of a NASCAR championship (NSCS, NNS, NCTS) with eighth overall in his rookie season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (formerly NASCAR Busch Series). Ambrose was second to fellow Ford driver David Ragan in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings & achieved a best finish of fourth along with pole position at Memphis in November.

During 2007 Ambrose achieved six top 10 & 19 top 20 finishes but undoubtedly the highest-profile moment of the year came in Montreal, Canada, when Ambrose dominated the race only to be taken out of the race by Robby Gordon with a few laps remaining. Ambrose led more laps than any other driver & was on his way to his debut NASCAR win until the Gordon incident.

As a result of the clash Gordon was suspended from the following day’s NASCAR Nextel Cup event, but as a gesture of goodwill, Gordon offered Ambrose a drive in one of his Cup cars for the following weekend’s Cup race at Watkins Glen. Unfortunately Ambrose was denied the chance to qualify for the race when qualifying was rained out & the field set on championship owner’s points.

Marcos Ambrose Web Site


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