So, is Ambrose the real deal?

[RJL25]

hes got the right attitude. He realised before he even went over to the states that it was going to be a completely different world and driving a stock car was going to be completely alien to anything he has ever done before. He started small in the trucks but he slowly built up speed and confidence, learning all the way, by seasons end he was reasonably competitive and was showing guys with years of oval racing experience the way to drive a car which was fairly impressive. If he can continue on this learning curve and continue to improve at the same rate he currently is, theres no reason he couldnt make a nice career for himself in the cup series

for mine, hes been more impressive then JPM so far, i mean yeah JPM has shown how much talent he has, but he has been rash and immature aswell, which kinda sums up his F1 career aswell! Ambrose on the other hand has show almost as much talent, but has also shown he is a very mature, consistant and professional driver. His fight back in the last race really sums it all up!

Also lets consider that he is 5th in the standings in only his second year in the states! Before he came over here he had never driven ANYTHING on an oval! never even seen one in person! JPM on the other hand had extensive experience on ovals, yeah sure it was in a completely different kind of car, but its still more then ambrose had! very impressive

[tassiedevilAB]

He has also made Jon Wood a better driver, seeing that Stacy might not of rated very high in Jon's mind. But with Marcos in Busch now, Jon has got more pressure in him to try to beat his team mate, that Jon rates highly as a driver & also as a coach to teach him on road courses, that coaching is already paying off for Jon! Doesn't Jon usually wreck on RC. but it would be good if Jon could do the same for Marcos on Ovals?

Marcos has stated lately that Ovals is what excites him & wan'ts to do better on them, eventho he has to race on the RC, he said that ovls are his passion & he want's to conqure them!

That tells us that he isn't satisfied at his drivng on them & he is determined that they will be conqured.
That means some good racing should be instore for his admirers & fans. bring it on Marcos!

[tassiedevilAB]

He certainly does have the right atitude!

Ambrose, who finished seventh last season in the truck series event at the newly-reconfigured Las Vegas Motor Speedway, spoke about the start of his season and this weekend’s Sam’s Town 300.

QUESTION: HEADING INTO THE SEASON, DID YOU THINK YOU’D HAVE A TOP-FIVE START IN THE POINT STANDINGS?

MARCOS AMBROSE: “No, not in my wildest dreams did I think we’d get off to such a solid start. We just wanted to finish races early on in the season. We did that and we’ve been conservative and we haven’t set a blistering pace, but we’ve been knocking off solid results and finishes, and here we are.

I don’t know if we’re going to stay there very long, but it’s nice to get off to a good start because it takes off the pressure off of being in the top 35 in points after five races.”

Q: YOU WERE FORCED TO SIT OUT THE FIRST THREE RACES OF THE TRUCK SEASON LAST YEAR, SO YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO RUN FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. HOW IS YOUR MINDSET DIFFERENT THIS YEAR?

MA: “It’s huge because it gives you the opportunity to start with everybody and build a base. That’s what we couldn’t do in the truck series. We never felt like we had a base to work from because we missed those first three races.

It’s a huge thing mentally to accept that you are never going to get into the top 10 in points even if you win a bunch of races. That’s where I’m coming from. We can build a base because we started the season with everybody and we’ve got something to work from.

Already, we’ve got a nice platform to work from, but we’ve got to get into a quarter of the season before we can start to say that we have a real base to work from. But, it’s a great start and we hope to keep it running.”

Q: AS A NEWCOMER TO THE SERIES, DO YOU FEEL A TOP-FIVE START TO THE SEASON GIVES YOU ADDED RESPECT FROM YOUR COMPETITORS?

MA: “Probably not, because to gain their respect you’ve got to perform on the race track. The important thing is to run fast and run well in the races.

I guess Mexico helped us get some credit there on the road-course racing, but we have to match that for the ovals. My focus right is to have a couple of solid runs on the ovals and build some confidence there and get the respect that way.”

Q: THE SERIES HEADS TO LAS VEGAS THIS WEEKEND, A TRACK THAT WAS RECONFIGURED LAST YEAR. CAN YOU COMMENT ON YOUR TEST SESSION THERE LAST MONTH?

MA: “It’s a tough one, someone like myself – a rookie – trying to compete in Busch racing at a place like Las Vegas. We had a good test. We ran strong and in the top 10 both days, but I’ve got a lot to learn and I don’t feel comfortable yet on the ovals, as much as I should.

When I’m doing a fast lap, I’m holding my breath, so I hope to get over that hurdle sooner rather than later and start to feel confident going into these oval races.”

Q: YOU RAN THE TRUCK SERIES RACE AT LAS VEGAS LAST YEAR AFTER THE TRACK WAS RECONFIGURED. WILL THAT BE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE?

MA: “I think it neutralizes itself out. The Cup regulars are going to be doing twice as many laps in practice than I will, so you can’t say that they’re not going to have enough laps on the race track considering we’ve already done two days of testing there. I think it’s going to balance out to nothing.

I feel like I’m not going in with any advantage into Vegas compared to California.”


This does not sound like a guy with a big head , just one that knows he has a long way to go !

[Osella]

And now a top-10 finish at Las Vegas too!

[harvick#1]

I'm surprised to see Ambrose run this good in just his first year in a car,

just shows how much just one year at least in the Trucks will do for a guy. he appears to be miles ahead of Montoya and he Marcos is running with a underfunded (compared to Cup Programs) and running very well against them.

alot of guys wrecked, but Ambrose kept his coo, got lucky, and has a very deserving top 10 finish

[Robert Ryan]

alot of guys wrecked, but Ambrose kept his coo, got lucky, and has a very deserving top 10 finish

It is a similar process to what he did in V8Supercar. At first got a few good results, then started to string them together, his strategy at how to attack the tracks also improved, the same process should be happening in BGN. .. Interestingly he said he was stilled scared of the ovals, although he loves driving on them. Hopefully that will pass by midseason.

[Osella]

Interestingly he said he was stilled scared of the ovals, although he loves driving on them. Hopefully that will pass by midseason.

Hope not! A little fear makes you go faster.
If you start being too blasé, that's when accidents happen. I don't think anyone who's raced at Le Mans wasn't scared of racing there at night (esp. in the rain!), but it's mastering the fear that counts; same with speedways.

[tassiedevilAB]

Osella how perceptive of you , that is what drives him to do better on the ovals , a little bit of fear is actually a good thing when driving in the heat of battle , because it keeps you focused on the job at hand, isn't it really called an adrenalin rush. When you are blaze at racing that hit doesn't get you up & the mind can do strange things when it is to relaxed, you see it time & time again when someone has gotten to the front to easy, instead of having to fight for every position that you have made up! Then wambmo! he is either off the track or in Nascar into the wall! But the driver that went off at the corner all of a sudden it got his notice & that is when you see him focosed again & driving like he want's to get back to the front!

[jslone]

And now a top-10 finish at Las Vegas too!

Is it a win,I think not.

[veeten]

Is it a win,I think not.

true, but it shows good progress considering he's new to the Nextel/Busch Cup side of NASCAR. The time in Craftsman Trucks has done a lot for him.

Keep putting up finishes like this and higher and other teams will take notice, maybe even offer him better deals.