Marcos Ambrose wins road race! - Page 3

birdman941 · 11-08-2008, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSbaby

Just shows how good the man really is. He believes in himself and has the ability to back it up.

Well done, Marcos! You're doing Australia proud!

He certainly is doing you country proud.
And Ford too!

F6 R-Spec · 11-08-2008, 10:25 AM

On ya MARCOS, what a tellent.
GO FORD.

Can any one tell me where on the grid did Kyle bush and Tony stewart start from?

InfernoSR · 11-08-2008, 10:30 AM

Awesome to hear of this victory! Go Ambrose!

birdman941 · 11-08-2008, 10:31 AM

Qualifying was rained out,
so Busch started on the pole (points leader) and Stewart 9th.
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008...nofficial.html

F6 R-Spec · 11-08-2008, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by birdman941

Qualifying was rained out,
so Busch started on the pole (points leader) and Stewart 9th.
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008...nofficial.html

There you go, it say's it all really.

What a champ.

Dezza · 11-08-2008, 10:47 AM

Awesome that he backed up his result from the first race with a 3rd in the second race! Even more amazing considering his starting position. Awesome job!

TZENU · 11-08-2008, 11:12 AM

Ambrose is certainly an awesome driver... Hopefully he can return one day to pilot a blue ovaled V8SC.....

xr8 utey · 11-08-2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TZENU

Ambrose is certainly an awesome driver... Hopefully he can return one day to pilot a blue ovaled V8SC.....

my thoughts also,he has some unfinished business at bathurst!

birdman941 · 11-08-2008, 11:35 AM

Just watched a post race interview with Mr. Ambrose.
He was very happy for his team, (Wood brothers)
for Ford, and was very respectful of his fellow racers.
He is a very impressive talent and a very clean driver.
He reminds me a bit of Alan Kulwicki and/or Davey Allison in that way,
(That is high praise, sadly both were killed in 1993 in non racing incidents)
and Ford does need a "new" shot in the arm driver in Nascar.
The Wood Brothers (his Cup team) have been struggling for years,
and this year hired 1988 Champ Bill Elliott to help them make some races.
All in all, it is good news for Ford Racing here.

Sprint347 · 11-08-2008, 02:52 PM

Awesome news, another aussie making us proud in the international scene.

xbgs351 · 11-08-2008, 03:41 PM

Ryan Briscoe won Indycar races in both July and August. Why aren't you guys raving about him?

deesun · 11-08-2008, 03:55 PM

^^^^^ Because we as a nation prefer to follow tin tops and Ryan Briscoe drives Indy Cars. We are not saying hes not a good driver. And the other thing is he wasnt driving a FORD nor had he won two V8 supercar championchips.

Bossxr8 · 11-08-2008, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbgs351

Ryan Briscoe won Indycar races in both July and August. Why aren't you guys raving about him?

Indycars are a forgotten category here, and a mere fraction of what NASCAR is over there.

xbgs351 · 11-08-2008, 09:21 PM

How about Will Power? He won the last Champ Car race at Long Beach.

birdman941 · 12-08-2008, 12:17 AM

Glad to see Aussie drivers doing well here.
Seriously, and with no disrespect,
no one here in the states really cares about open wheel any more.

kpcart · 12-08-2008, 05:37 AM

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

XAGSV8 · 12-08-2008, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

You haven't been following his career over there obviously or your just one of those Holden fans who never got over him dominating the V8's. Why would he return to V8 Supercars after the way he was treated in his final year in the series?

**Silver Ghia** · 12-08-2008, 07:07 AM

Next year, full time premier sprint cup racing, new team with Chevy and even Toyota also currently knocking on his door. FF2 had a photo of a Chev guy talking to him in his car after the Saturday race.

Looking real good for Marcos. This is big time.

**Mont5.0** · 12-08-2008, 07:40 AM

he smoked them treads well at the end of the race!

monaroCountry · 12-08-2008, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

He would most likely win or be a podium finisher in all road courses, he has also been improving on his oval races. Give Ambrose a bit more time and wait for the team to improve further and he will also score wins in ovals.

Marcos ran out of money because Australians dont normally fund F1 dreams of local drivers like other countries (Germany, Brasil, Italy et al). Also his results were pretty good, that was until $$$$$ problems.

European Formula Ford Championship 1999
1 Marcos Ambrose
3 Nicolas Kiesa
4 Mark Taylor
5 Kimi Räikkönen

Marcos has shown that he is a very capable driver lifting up an ordinary team (sounds like Stone Brothers when Marcos came in). He has also humiliated many well respected road course and open wheeler drivers including serveral former Formula 1 stars.

F1 for many people is a waste of time and money, its a costly exercise. NASCAR in America is far far far bigger than F1 especially in terms of crowds, television and sponsorships. The level of competition in my opinion is also far better in NASCAR than in F1.

deesun · 12-08-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

Fair dinkum you are a bit unfair. Firstly if he has a lousy oval track car then what do you think he will do in a good car. Second, in the Nationwide series on saturday at the Glen he overtook more cars than you can poke a stick at. and on a few occasions set fastest lap. Yes he had a good pit strategy but thats all part of winning and he had overtaken most cars BEFORE the pit strategy was in place. Thirdly, the Cup race on Monday he started 43rd if you didnt see, and no one else saw ANYONE from that far back at the front of the race at the end. As for the oval tracks he is learning every lap and if you cant give credit where credit is due then dont say anything. He has won at every level he has raced at and this is no different. Bring on next season when he gets a fulltime drive in the Cup. Methinks you will eat your words. Not only that but I also think judging by your past posts you don't have a good thing to say about anything Ford or related to it. You praise Holden and others but put down nearly anything Ford related. Ambrose must have left an awful taste in your mouth when he spanked your Holdens butt.

xbgs351 · 12-08-2008, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

What is wrong with career ambitions?

It isn't like V8Supercars are the best category short of Formula 1. It sure has less prestige than the European Formula Ford Championship which he has won or the British and French Formula 3 Championships which he has competed in. It also has a lot less earning potential than Craftsmen Trucks or Nascar.

Come to think of it, not many drivers have escaped the career rut that is V8Supertaxis. Wayne Gardner went on to race in the Japan Touring Car Championships and the 24 hours of Lemans. A few others have dipped their toes in, before moving overseas for bigger things. Generally V8Supertaxis is the equivelent for a racing driver to a race horse being put out to pasture.

Dezza · 12-08-2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

It wasn't lack of talent that stopped Marcos making it into F1, it was lack of finances. He came back to Australia to race V8s when his money pretty much dried up. His performance in Nascar has been impressive. The fact that he's moved his way up through the Nascar ranks in such a relatively short timeframe says a lot about his talent. He seems a lot happier now than he did in his last couple of years of V8 Supercars so there don't seem to be any regrets there.

blueoval · 12-08-2008, 11:32 AM

I also reckon MA is earning more cash than V8SC could ever offer too.

BA GT-HO · 12-08-2008, 01:39 PM

Good on Ambrose! I knew he had it in him what a GUN!

Why would you want to race a Supertaxi when you can be racing with the likes of Montoya and others who have been there and done it all? Supertaxis are nothing in the bigger picture..

phillyc · 12-08-2008, 02:44 PM

I've watched all bar 5 of his races since he graduated to the Busch/Nationwide level. Unfortunately, being away with the in-laws meant that I missed his first win...

But, I did get up yesterday at 4am, after getting home at 11pm the night before (5hr drive), to watch him come from the last position (43rd) based on owner points as qualifying as rained out.

Had Sprint Cup qualifying been run, well, Marcos was fastest in Practice 2, and 3rd fastest in Final practice.

Marcos on average, passed a car every lap, had to pit for fuel & tyres, which was a very slow stop, losing about a dozen positions. He charged through the field again, then pitted, only to have to pit again for loose wheel nuts, then still came through the field. He passed about 60-80 cars on track and wound up 3rd!

Marcos is a legend in the making. Obviously, he is fast on the road courses, but he is also getting there on the ovals, even with a 2nd rate team. He is consistently the first car home not associated with a Cup team.

After 24 races in a 35 race season, Marcos is 10th. Considering the dire start to the season, several DNFs caused by lapped cars, and the sacking of Walter Giles (Crew Chief), after round 6, Marcos and the team have made up massive ground. Averaging about a position on the leaderboard every race or two.

Marcos has now made over $760k in the Nationwide and $380k after just 3 Sprint races (9 more to go), he is well on the way to making $2M USD this season alone.

Congratulations Marcos, your getting better and better and doing Australia and your fans proud!

phillyc · 12-08-2008, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

Clueless.

Aside from his Formula Ford title, he was in line to win the 'World FF' title held at Brands Hatch, when Jensen Button took him out of the lead with a few laps left.

His F1 dream didn't happen, not because of his pace, he did beat several current F1 drivers in his time over a season, and the reigning F1 champ. No, it didn't happen because of a lack of funds.

In V8s he took a midfield team to a team that dominated despite never having raced a tin-top before. He did it in record time too. Qualifying on pole, on debut. So fast, that Skaife accused him of somehow cheating at the AGp circuit. He didn't. He went on to have 16 poles and 14 round victories from 60 starts. Having a win in every year he competed.

Championship wise he raced to an 8th in 2001 & 3rd in 2002 in the AU which had nothing like parity. In 2003 & 2004 he was Champion. In 2005 he finished 3rd. The best record of anyone to race in V8s.

But despite the accolades, he took on a new challenge. The dream of racing on the ovals of America. Never before had he driven in that style of racing, but he gave it a go.

With limited running in the Nascar Craftsman trucks he had some solid results, including a pole and two 3rd position finishes. He showed what he had and despite initially being pencilled in for 2 years in that level, was offered a drive in the Busch/Nationwide series.

Several strong results and regular consistent finishes, netted an 8th in the 2007 series and "Runner-Up Rookie of the Year" to David Ragan, who drives for Roush-Yates and is teammate to Matt Kenseth & Carl Edwards(the 2007 Champion).

If not for being deliberately taken out by Robby Gordon last year, Marcos would've already had his first win. But, his resilience and composure, was enough to net him some limited amount of Sprint Cup races this year.

His regular strong finishes this year in the Nationwide series, meant that more Sprint Cup races have been added to the original schedule, plus he makes the graduation to a full time Sprint Cup drive next season.

Although, not the aim, his earnings this year will make him about $2M USD and next year most likely double that. But, the real success for Marcos, is to develop the team into a winner on ovals and road circuits, and to develop his own oval skills. The challenge is what drives him.

All the best Marcos!

**buggerlugs** · 12-08-2008, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

You can't be serious ??????????

oooooooooo · 12-08-2008, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpcart

this will be a one off. theres a few series in nascar in US, and ambrose has a crap car, and cant compete with the best cars. i dont know why he bothers, surely v8 supercars is more challenging and fun from a real racers point of view. in v8s he could show he can beat everyone in similarily equiped cars, in nascar he hasnt and he wont.

marcus is just in it for career ambitions to make himself an international name, but to me its a step backwards what he has done. he wasnt good enough for f1 after racing in europe, then he shouldve stayed in v8s and dominated if thats his skill level, but it obviously isnt, cos in nascar he is very ordinary, doesnt have the speed required to race in one of the top nascar teams, so he is going to be finishind, 12th, 22nd, 15th etc every race, and get a fluke 1st or 2nd like this race every 2nd year.

Mate you left your xbox running.

:

Swordsman88 · 13-08-2008, 01:01 AM

Well said phillyc. kpcart you haven't got a clue mate......

i was not a huge fan of marcos when he was in v8s to be honest....i mostly supported lowndes once he got into fords.....but he is a damn good driver that is for sure. I thought his decision to go to the states to run in nascar was pushing his luck a bit...not because he was not good enough, but because he was going so well in v8s. But he has proved me wrong with his work so far...in cars that are generally not that competitive. He can drive that is for sure.