The Sexy Australian- Marcos!

It was cute!!

Only a cute face like that could pull it off.

CREW CHIEF FEELS AMBROSE CAN NOW SHOOT FOR VICTORY …

The recent run of strong form from Australian NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose has his crew chief talking up his chances in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Frank Kerr, crew chief of the #47 entry of JTG Daugherty Racing, has made it known that he has reset his expectations for Ambrose this season, saying that a breakthrough Sprint Cup victory in the top level of NASCAR is not only not out of the question, but could come at an oval track race.

“We thought at the beginning of the season that we would have a shot to win at a road course, but now we feel like we have a shot to win before we even get to a road course,” said Kerr.

For Frankie’s full comments ahead of this weekend’s Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia, see below.

NEW CAR FOR AMBROSE IN PHOENIX …

After last weekend’s outstanding fourth place finish at Talladega Superspeedway – Ambrose’s best oval finish at Sprint Cup level – the 32-year-old will run a brand new car at the Richmond short track this weekend.

The car, chassis 622 out of the Michael Waltrip Racing stable, will carry Ambrose to his first Sprint Cup start at Richmond, but the Australian does boast two top 15 finishes at the 0.75-mile oval in the Nationwide Series.

BUSH’S BEANS LIVERY DEBUT THIS WEEKEND …

Another first will be unveiled this weekend when Ambrose and JTG Daugherty Racing debut the Bush’s Beans livery for the #47 entry.

The blue, white and gold paint scheme will run for two weeks, both this weekend in Richmond and the following event in Darlington, South Carolina.

It will be Bush’s Beans first event as a major sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series, having backed Ambrose’s JTG Daugherty Racing entry in the Nationwide Series for the past two seasons.

POWER RANKINGS REFLECT STRONG FORM …

Ambrose’s strong 2009 form continues to be recognised well beyond his dedicated fan base, which continues to grow on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

Ambrose has featured in the ‘Power Rankings’, the tips devised by statistical experts to predict form and aid race fans with their Fantasy League picks for each race, at not one but two major outlets in the US.

Jorge Andreas Mondaca of FOX Sports has Ambrose in the 11th position in his rankings this week and also flags him as this week’s biggest mover, improving nine positions in his tally.

“Did you notice Marcos Ambrose finished fourth at Talladega? He probably shouldn't be this high in the rankings, but the guy deserves as much attention as he can get — he's proving a lot of people wrong (myself included),” said Mondaca.

Link: http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/powerRankings

Meanwhile, Mark Aumann at NASCAR.com has Ambrose in 13th place in his Power Rankings, bringing Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Brian Vickers into his top 20 post-Talladega.

Link: http://www.nascar.com/news/features/power_rankings/index.html

WHAT MARCOS HAS TO SAY:

On the track …

“Richmond is a short track but it feels a little bigger and faster and drives like a blend between a short track and an intermediate track,” said Ambrose.

“It’s a spectacular race track, especially under lights, and I’m looking forward to racing there because we’ve got some good form going.

“Obviously, it’s a completely different place to Talladega but I’m feeling good all the same.”

On the race …

“We have Bush’s Best® Baked Beans on the car for the first time at Richmond and we want to perform well for them and keep the momentum going,” Ambrose said.

“We’ve surprised ourselves and we are doing really well.

“We’re just going to keep doing what we have been doing and go to Richmond to race without expectations. The team is keeping an open mind.”

AND A WORD FROM #47 CREW CHIEF FRANK KERR …

“We thought at the beginning of the season that we would have a shot to win at a road course, but now we feel like we have a shot to win before we even get to a road course,” said Kerr.

“We keep getting better and unfortunately the points are not indicative of just how well we have been running.

“If it hadn’t been for a few mechanical failures, we would be in the top 10.

“David (Reutimann) led the most laps in the fall at Richmond and we looked at what the #00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry did there last year.

“We feel like we can also be a contender. I was worried about places like Bristol, Martinsville and even Phoenix (International Raceway), but we excelled.

“We have found some new things for Richmond that will help all of us and we are really looking forward to this weekend and also having Bush's Beans on board with us.”

Hell, Marcos has earned every accolaide hes gotten this year, thats for damn sure.

I just love it when seen-as underdogs shut the masses up

No kidding. Look at how far Clinty's come. It's amazing.

Its twists like that that make the sport worth it more and more - the same people arent dominating every single second, and it mixes it all up

-And I couldnt be any more proud of Clint unless I was Jana and Chris myself.

-And Andy and Casey, too

But you're his woman, so you have every right to be the #1 proud fan.

Damn straight!

Hehehe I was reading last night that when Clint won his first race in 07 at Loudon, Andy was the one who couldnt be there, and when there were 10 laps to go he started freaking out, and when Clint won he cried!

That is so sweet!!

Awww!

I saw a picture of Andy, and you can definitely tell he's Clint's brother!! Hehehe Ill try to find the pic this afternoon

Yes! Pictures!

Ill put them in Clint's thread

Wow, I didnt even recognize him right away!

What a dazzling smile.

AMBROSE 11TH IN RICHMOND DESPITE IMPACT WITH WALL


Marcos Ambrose continues to impress in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with a stirring recover to grab 11th place in the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia today.

The result came despite contact with the wall on lap 308 after being spun by Sam Hornish Jr, Ambrose continuing on with significant damage to the rear of his car. After dropping to the rear of the lead lap order after the spin, the Australian roared back up the order to finish just short of a top 10 run.

The finish is Ambrose’s seventh top 20 finish from 10 races this season and his fifth top 15 result in the last six races, a great result for his first full season in the top level of NASCAR.

Ambrose showed great pace at the 0.75-mile Richmond short track, continuing the form that saw him grab fourth place at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedaway one week ago.

The Richmond race also saw the debut of the Bush’s Beans livery on the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing entry, which Ambrose will campaign again next weekend at Darlington Raceway.

Kyle Busch won today’s Russ Friedman 400 ahead of Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton.

WHAT MARCOS HAS TO SAY:

“It was a long night - really long,” said Ambrose.

“I thought it was never going to end. But we had a good car and ran well.

“When the sun went down we lost the handling on the car, but we kept at it.

“We got damaged with a spin and a crash and we had to fight our way back through.

“I’m really proud of our team to be able to bounce back. We’ll take 11th place. One spot more would have been fantastic, but we have got to be happy with that.

“We’re doing it every week. I’m thrilled. Even though it was a tough night we still had a decent finish.”

Hehehe you can tell he didnt grow up with stock cars - he still calls them "crashes"

I loooooooove listening to Marcos' in-car audio.

Do you find it sounds like him??

I find Clint only sounds like himself maybe half of the time!

A little bit, once I hear the accent.

its funny how that works 'cuz Jr.always sounds like Jr. on the radio,I don't know its Clint half the time either! From what little I've heard of Ryan it does sound like him!

Yes, Ryan sounds like Ryan, but for the life of me, I cannot make out Matty's voice. Kevin sounds like Kevin, and yea, Junior sounds like Junior.

I think Clinty pretty much sounds like himself.

A lot of their voices sound lighter.

BUSY WEEK LEADING INTO DARLINGTON FOR AMBROSE …

Marcos Ambrose has been busy leading into the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina this weekend.

Ambrose, fresh from 11th place in Richmond last weekend, ventured down to Daytona International Speedway in Florida to participate in a two-day tyre test for Goodyear on Monday and Tuesday.

Ambrose ran in both single-run and pack ‘drafting’ situations over the two days and was pleased to participate in the track time around the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

The Australian finished fourth at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago, but is keen to push for improvement on the banks of Daytona ahead of July’s Pepsi 400.

POINTS BOOST LEADS TO CHASE TALK …

The recent form from Ambrose has led to some pundits to begin talking about the 32-year-old’s chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

The top 12 in the series after the Fall Richmond race are elevated into the Chase and at present Ambrose is only 120 points shy of 12th place.

Currently, the average finish for Ambrose in races where he hasn’t failed to finish due to engine failure is an outstanding fourth place.

Ambrose, who is in his first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is also well ahead of Sprint Cup rookie contenders Joey Logano and Scott Speed on the points table.

SECOND WEEK FOR BUSH’S BEANS LIVERY …

Darlington represents the second event where Bush’s Beans will be the major sponsor of the #47 JTG Daugherty Racing entry.

The blue and white Bush’s livery, which turned heads under the lights at Richmond last weekend, could feature the traditional ‘Darlington stripe’ come Saturday’s race.

The fastest line around the unique 1.336-mile speedway is traditionally right against the SAFER Barrier on the high line, leading many cars to scrape the right side fenders against the barrier.

PRESSLEY OFFERS TIPS FOR ‘THE TRACK TOO TOUGH TO TAME’ …

Former JTG Daugherty Racing Nationwide Series driver Robert Pressley has been something of a mentor to Ambrose since the two-time V8 Supercar Series champion arrived on the NASCAR scene in 2006.

Pressley has again been assisting Ambrose, offering him advice ahead of Darlington this weekend.

On the track referred to as ‘Too Tough To Tame’, Ambrose already has one top 10 result and another top 20 finish in the Nationwide Series.

WHAT MARCOS HAS TO SAY:

On the track …

“Robert Pressley (former JTG Daugherty Racing driver) really knows how to get around Darlington and he did a lot to help me learn the unique racing line and mind-set that it takes to get around the place,” said Ambrose.

“I’m so excited to get to Darlington, but I’m not so sure how I’m going to finish the race. It’s one of those weekends that you just like to go there, but you are not so sure how it is going to work out.

“It’s a great track. I’ve had one race there on the old surface and one on the new. I’ve had a good taste of what it is all about. It’s a very aggressive place to go. I can’t wait to get there with the Bush’s Beans car for their second ever Cup race.”

On the race …

“No doubt, we are still outperforming our own expectations and that’s a good thing,” said Ambrose.

“I said to my crew before we ever started the year, let’s just try our best to look good and show those glimpses of promise. Then from that, we will be able convert, hopefully, results and get the points thing under control. The focus was about that. We just wanted to run well when we are running.

“This week my crew and I were sitting down at Daytona for a Goodyear tyre test having lunch talking about how we are only 120 points out of 12th-place after 10 races.

“Actually, David Reutimann was asked to go to the test first, but I twisted his arm and stuffed him in a locker!

“I told him he couldn’t go and that it was my turn. I think he’s actually spending time with his family in North Carolina and I’ve chosen to come down here to get some more drafting practice for the July race. It’s the second Goodyear test I’ve done. I did one at Lowe’s Motor Speedway earlier this year.

“Every chance I get, I want to get in one of these cars to get experience. I felt I was weak in my drafting during the Daytona 500. I couldn’t get in the middle of it all, so any chance I can get practice in the draft down here is going to help me.

“We ran through some single-car runs for Goodyear on Monday and then they put us together in a pack on Tuesday. They are trying some slightly different configurations, a little bit wider right-side tyre that they have in the works for us to see how that feels.

“We never expected to be in this position in the points. We are not getting carried away either. We’ve just got to focus on what we have been doing which is build a solid car for the race. We need to get it fast enough in practice so we can show speed during the race and work out the finish from there. All things considered, we have done well so far. We’ve just had a few reliability issues that have kept us out of the top 12 in points.

“We are good on short tracks, superspeedways and intermediate tracks. We’re doing well on all of them. I honestly thought short tracks were going to be an issue for me to get up to speed to learn because I hadn’t raced a Cup car on a short track or even superspeedways for that matter. However, we’ve had our best results at those places.

“We had a solid finish at Richmond, but we were crashed. We came back to have a decent finish considering all that we faced. You can bash those cars around and even back them into the fence and they will keep moving. We had good moments and bad moments, but we bounced back from adversity and almost got another top-10.”

Kewman2939 wrote:Yes, Ryan sounds like Ryan, but for the life of me, I cannot make out Matty's voice. Kevin sounds like Kevin, and yea, Junior sounds like Junior.

I think Clinty pretty much sounds like himself.

A lot of their voices sound lighter.

There was one part in uhh...RaceDay I think...where Clint got bumped from behind and he asked Gil "who hit me in the ass?" - That, to me, sounded exactly like him...but other times, its just not! hehe