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NASCAR News | April 2, 2010
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Ambrose, the Tasmanian Devil, feeling at home in U.S.
By Jay Hart
April 2, 2010
He was a championship driver in his native Australia, but Marcos Ambrose wanted to compete against the best. So he packed up his things and moved to America. Five years later, he’s living the dream.
Ambrose talked about the switch to Sprint Cup Racing, what his country thinks of NASCAR and what’s really Australian for beer:
1. How the heck does a guy from Australia end up in the Sprint Cup Series?
Ambrose: That’s a really good question. I’ve got no idea. I just went racing and just kept racing until someone said I couldn’t, and here I am.
[I came to NASCAR] because they’re the best. If you’re a fan of racing and you look around the world – obviously, I’m an international driver; I’ve raced in Europe before, I’ve raced in Australia and all through the southeast Asian region – and I’d never been to America before and I decided that I wanted to come across here, and the biggest and best racing there is is NASCAR.
So, it was just natural for me to just try to come across and have a go at it. There was no idea of how I was going to get into the sport. I just turned up and started to meet people and started to get some tests and what not, and the rest is history.
2. What do Australians think of NASCAR?
Ambrose: They think a lot more of it now that I’ve come across. I mean, I was a pretty big fish in a small pond and had won a couple of championships in our version of NASCAR in Australia. So when I left it was a pretty big deal down there. People questioned why I would want to do that. And now, of course, they had a casual interest because I was here, and now it’s got a huge following in Australia. I’m more popular now than when I was winning championships in Australia.
3. You’ve been a lot better than your results show. Are you feeling a sense of urgency now to turn the results part of it around?
Ambrose: We’re definitely a lot further back in the garage area than what we should be, so that’s frustrating to us. I think we keep tripping over ourselves and have some mechanical issues, some teamwork issues and have had some issues on pit lane and what not. So we’ve got to stop tripping over ourselves and it’ll come back to us.
You know, I’m feeling pretty bad because [we’ve done] six races and we don’t even feel like our season’s started. So, I feel bad that we’ve gotten off to a bad start because it really hurts our chance to make the Chase. But we just want to go out now and run well, win races if we can and look good.
4. Who has impressed you the most?
Ambrose: Everyone one of ‘em. There isn’t one driver there that doesn’t deserve to be out there at this level. In the top 20, 25 cars it’s just incredible to see the talent of all the drivers. I’m privileged to be on the same track with them and mixing it up with them – it’s just a lot of fun.
You know, a guy like Mark Martin, even Michael Waltrip, the guys who have been around for 10, 15, 20 years at this level, it’s just incredible to think that they can sustain themselves for that long. It’s a commendable achievement.
5. We all go into new experiences with a sort of pre-conceived idea of what to expect. What’s surprised you the most since you arrived on the Cup scene?
Ambrose: I think just the level of commitment from all the drivers. It’s just a massive commitment. That and the ability to race the car on the edge all day – it’s just quite amazing. The fact that you’re sideways at 200 mile an hour striking up the right rears – all of the sudden after you’ve done it awhile it feels normal to you. So it’s quite remarkable that you can drive on the edge like that, because we’re driving way fast for what these cars want to go.
6. What do you like most about living – part-time anyway – in the United States and what do you miss most about Australia?
Ambrose: We’re living the American life. We feel like our home now is in the U.S. and we go to Australia for a bit of a holiday. We love to go home because we have friends and family there and we have two little kids that we like to keep balanced between both country’s lifestyles.
But we love America. It’s a great place. It’s the only place in the world that you can live your dreams. I feel great about being here and living here and just enjoying the good life.
7. What’s the most frivolous thing you spend money on?
Ambrose: Games for my iPhone. I buy those 99-cent games all the time and just waste my money. It’s frivolous. When I’ve got nothing to do, I just love playing games.
8. What’s your favorite track?
Ambrose: I like ‘em all, but Bristol’s been kind to me. And the road races, of course. But there is no track I haven’t liked going to. They’re all great.
I still haven’t quite worked out the big, 2-mile tracks in Michigan and California. But as I get more comfortable at those speeds, I’m sure I’ll do better.
9. What’s really Australian for beer?
Ambrose: Definitely not Fosters. Australian for beer is anytime after 5 o’clock.
10. The one thing I want fans to know about me is …
Ambrose: I really am a Tasmanian Devil. People associate the Tasmanian Devil with this wild and furious character, spin around and what not. I’m a pretty casual guy when I’m cruising around the garage area or in the motor home. But when I’m on the track, I do definitely change my personality.
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