| abstract | - Marcos Ambrose (born September 1,1976 in Launceston, Tasmania Australia) is a Australian NASCAR driver of the #9 Stanley Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports for the Sprint Cup Series and occasionally in the Nationwide Series. Ambrose is a Australian V8 Supercar champion in 2003 and 2004. Ambrose began racing karts at the age of ten. After several Tasmanian state titles, he moved into Formula Ford in 1996. The Ambrose family have a rich history in this formula as Marcos' father Ross Ambrose, along with Ralph Firman Sr, co-founded of Formula Ford chassis builder Van Diemen. Marcos competed in both Australian Formula Ford and British Formula Ford, before stepping up to British Formula Three for a brief period. When his budget could no longer sustain his career in Europe, Marcos returned to Australia, where he was recruited by Stone Brothers Racing, competing in the Australian V8 Supercar series from 2001 until 2005. With them, he won two championships in 2003 and 2004, the first Ford driver to do so in seven years. The Ford Motor Company signed Ambrose to participate overseas in the United States with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2006. However, Ambrose had to wait until part way through the 2006 season to begin. NASCAR did not clear Ambrose to race the NCTS' first three races, as they were held on intermediate to high-speed ovals, and like fellow Wood Brothers/JTG Racing driver Bobby East, Ambrose was not cleared to start in the faster races. Ambrose made his Truck Series debut on April 1 2006 at the Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, qualifying 20th and finishing 33rd after being caught up in an incident unfolding in front of him. [1] Ambrose is the first notable Australian driver in a national NASCAR series event since Dick Johnson in 1990.
|
