Ambrose reflects on first full season in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Marcos Ambrose has his backpack packed for his journey from America to Launceston,
Tasmania, Australia as soon as the checkered flag falls on the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For Ambrose,
his season has somewhat exceeded his JTG-Daugherty Racing team's
expectations as they currently sit 18th in the championship standings
with four top-five and seven top-10 finishes.
"On Monday after Homestead, I have a 3:50 p.m. flight to Australia
and I can't wait to get home because my family is already there,"
Ambrose said. "It's just been a great year for the No. 47 Little
Debbie JTG-Daugherty Racing team in the Cup Series. We didn't
expect that we would be in position to finish in the top-20 in points
because we were just hoping to finish in the top-30," Ambrose said.
"We have exceeded our expectations and we have been very competitive.
We have seven top-10 finishes, but were so close to having more. We had
at least three 11th place finishes that with a bit of luck would have
been top-10s. But, it doesn't really matter. We've done plenty
this year."
Ambrose's flashes of brilliance occurred at a variety of tracks, not
just road courses. In addition to finishing third at Infineon Raceway and
second at Watkins Glen International, he finished fourth at Talladega
Superspeedway, tenth and third at Bristol Motor Speedway, sixth at both
Pocono Raceway and Daytona International Speedway. In 35 starts, he's
racked up 15 top-15 finishes.
"Our team is growing and our results this year have helped prove
that," Ambrose said. "I'm a lot more confident as a driver
and secure in myself that I can do the job. All those things will play a
part. You can't guarantee you are going to move forward. It's a
challenging world we live in. We are very focused on understanding that
not every step is going to be forward and sometimes you may take a step
backwards."
The Australian driver knows there are no guarantees in this business, but
he feels his JTG-Daugherty Racing team will be able to build a strong
case for a spot in the Chase in 2010.
"We want to win a race and make the Chase," Ambrose said.
"Sure, it's a lofty goal, but I think it's achievable with
our No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota if everything goes well. I think we are
worthy of it and can do it. We know we gave away 300 points before the
Chase started and we were about 200 points behind in the end."
Before he looks ahead to 2010, Ambrose is ready to tackle Homestead-Miami
Speedway with his No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota and close the book on the
season. Last year, Ambrose completed 222 laps and finished 42nd after
sustaining damage to his machine in the 267-lap event at the 1.5-mile
oval.
"We were in a crash," Ambrose said. "I'm hoping to end the season
on a better note this time. I'm ready for a fresh start. It's been a
long year and I'm pretty tired. I'm not starting to wilt, but I
feel the effects of the season. I'm looking forward to refreshing my
mind and body by getting back into training and forgetting about going in
circles for a while. I'm looking forward to joining my family in
Australia and starting a new year in NASCAR."
-credit: jtgr
