Australian Nascar driver Marcos Ambrose is brimming with confidence heading into the eighth race of the Nascar Sprint Cup at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
Coming off a pair of 11th place finishes, Ambrose has jumped up the points standing to currently run in 24th, importantly only 182 points off the top 12 cutoff to battle in the season ending Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Last weekend Ambrose qualified a season best fourth at Phoenix International Raceway, and has previously had strong top-ten runs in Texas, with the JTG Daugherty team poised to continue their charge up the results sheet.
"Texas is a really critical event for a lot of teams," Ambrose said.
"The teams that are able to get their heads around the spoiler will excel, and we're excited about it.
“We're in a stretch of 14 races straight, and this is a really good chance for us to get off to a good start.”
Last year at the 2.41km long quad-oval, Ambrose was running strongly in second position before he ran out of fuel on the penultimate lap, dropping him to 15th position at the chequered flag.
“We gambled and gave it a shot, but we came up just a little short,” said Ambrose.
“I really wanted to win that race, we were close on fuel, but when you are so close like that you have to give it a go.
“We probably only needed a half a gallon to make it, that was the difference between second and 15th.”
Although Ambrose may only be in his second full season in Nascar’s elite Sprint Cup, his impact on the sport has been far reaching, and he was recently humbled to learn that he will receive a Sportmanship of the Year Award from the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame this weekend.
Other award winners include such Nascar luminaries as Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Robert Yates and Joe Gibbs.
“I am honored to receive the Sportsmanship award and would like to thank the Motorsports Hall of Fame panel, Eddie Gossage and everyone at Texas Motor Speedway,” Ambrose said.
“I have such a great appreciation for our sport, when I came into NASCAR I promised myself I was going to appreciate every single day and not get mad or angry.
“I remind myself every day that I’m doing something that millions of kids out there – girls and guys – would love to do when they grow up.
“Sure, you may get disappointed at times and there are compromises, however, you can never lose sight that there are not many downs when you are a racecar driver.
“I love what I do, so, to be recognised like this for the first time - especially when I’m a goofy Tasmanian coming from 14,000 miles away - is pretty awesome.”
Qualifying will be broadcast in Australia on One HD at 10:30am on Saturday, with the live broadcast from Texas kicking off at 2:00am on Monday morning on Fox Sports 1, with viewers advised to check their local guides for details.
Vote Marcos Ambrose into the Sprint All-Star Race
Marcos Ambrose’s next big challenge is to gain a starting spot in the Sprint All-Star Race, which is scheduled for the 22nd of May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The non-points paying race with a one million dollar prize purse for the winner is an invitation only event, closed to Sprint Cup race winners from the 2009-10 season, former series champions and All-Star Race winners from the past 10 years.
Ambrose can gain a start in the race by either winning one of the five regular season races before the All-Star Race, finish in the top-two in the qualifying race, or win the popular fan vote, which is now open at www.nascar.com/promos/allstar/2010/vote/.
Nascar Sprint Cup Race Preview
Samsung Mobile 500- Texas Motor Speedway
Track Distance: 1.5 miles/2.41km
Track Type: Intermediate Quad-Oval
Crowd Capacity: 159,585
Last time at Texas Motor Speedway
Dickies 500- Kurt Busch
Marcos Ambrose finishing position- 15th
Other Marcos Ambrose Results at Texas Motor Speedway-
Nascar Sprint Cup
2009 (1): 41st (mechanical)
2008 (2): 21st
Nascar Nationwide Series
2008 (2): 9th
2008 (1): 18th
2007 (2): 30th
2007 (1): 31st
Nascar Truck Series
2006 (2): 27th
2006 (1): 10th
Nascar Sprint Cup Standings (after race 7 of 36)
1. Jimmie Johnson- 1073 points
2. Matt Kensith- 1037
3. Greg Biffle- 981
4. Kevin Harvick- 961
5. Jeff Gordon- 948
6. Clint Bowyer- 873
7. Jeff Burton- 873
8. Carl Edwards- 873
9. Tony Stewart- 869
10. Dale Earnhardt Jnr- 866
11. Joey Lagano- 862
12. Kyle Busch- 855
24. Marcos Ambrose- 673
Australian TV Guide
Check local guides for regional viewing times
Qualifying
One HD- Saturday April 17th, 10:30am – 12:00pm
Race
Fox Sports 1 (Plus Fox Sports 1 HD)- Monday April 19th, 2:00am – 7:00am
Race Replays
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Tuesday April 20th, 8:30pm – 9:30pm
Fox Sports 3 (Plus Fox Sports 3 HD)- Wednesday April 21st, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
One HD (Hosted by Marcos Ambrose)- Thursday April 22nd, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
