Marcos Ambrose Career Highlights
2014
Completed eighth and final season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) with three top-five finishes and seven top-10 results. Scored his fourth NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) win at Watkins Glen International – and fifth career series victory – in August. Announced that he would return to the V8 Supercars Championship with DJR Team Penske to pilot the No. 17 Ford Falcon. Finished 20th, 21st and 16th in the three races that made up the Homebush final round weekend for the V8 Supercars in Sydney. Finished NASCAR career with five NNS wins and two NSCS victories.
2013
Finished the season with six top-10 finishes in NSCS competition and one top-10 in his only NNS start. Competed for the final time in the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race, finishing on the podium in the third position.
2012
Captured the second Sprint Cup Series win of his career at Watkins Glen in August. Won back-to-back pole positions at Michigan International Speedway and Sonoma Raceway, respectively, in June. His pole position at Michigan came via a lap of 203.241 mph, which was the fastest NSCS qualifying lap in 25 years prior to that day. Finished with one win, three top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and two pole positions.
2011
Joined Richard Petty Motorsports. Won first career NSCS race at Watkins Glen in August in one of the most-thrilling finishes of the year battling with current Team Penske teammate, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch for the win. Won his fourth career NNS race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Finished the season with one win, five top-five finishes and 12 top-10 results.
2010
Raced his second full-time season of NSCS competition. Finished with two top-five finishes and five top-10 results. Won his third-consecutive NNS race at Watkins Glen for this third career series win.
2009
Competed in first full-time season of NSCS competition after moving up from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Scored four top-five finishes and seven top-10 results. Quickly picked up on several of the toughest circuits on the schedule, including one top-five finish and two top-10 results at Bristol Motor Speedway. Won his second-consecutive NNS race at Watkins Glen International.
2008
Competed full-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series while also making 11 NSCS starts. Started his first career NSCS race at Sonoma in June. Picked up the first of his three-consecutive NNS wins at Watkins Glen in August.
2007
Raced first season of NASCAR Nationwide Series competition with current Team Penske technical partner, Wood Brothers Racing. Finished eighth in the series standings, the highest finishing position of anyone that did not compete in any NSCS races. Attempted to qualify for three NSCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Watkins Glen and Dover International Speedway but was unable to place his car in the field.
2006
Made the move from the Australian V8 Supercar Series to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driving a Ford F-150. Made his debut at Martinsville Speedway in April, joining current DJR Team Penske team owner, Dick Johnson, and Jim Richards as notable Australians to start major NASCAR-sanctioned event. Finished third at Kansas Speedway in July to become the first non-American to finish inside the top-five in a NCWTS race since 1999.
2005
Announced at the first V8 Supercar Series round that he would leave the series at the end of the season to move to NASCAR. Completed a sweep in the opening round in Adelaide. Remained in contention for the series championship until Round 10 at Bathurst, where he was involved in an incident that took him out of contention. Finished the season with five race wins and 12 podium finishes as part of a 1-2-3 sweep for Ford Racing in the final standings.
2004
Went into the final round of the V8 Supercar Series season at Eastern Creek with a virtually insurmountable lead following three pole positions and five rounds wins throughout the year. Swept the final round in dramatic fashion as he and teammate, Russell Ingall, gave Ford Racing a second-consecutive 1-2 finish in the final standings while winning his second-consecutive V8 Supercars title. Finished with 11 race wins and 20 podium finishes in 26 starts.
2003
Got off to a fast start with a win in the first race of the opening round of the V8 Supercar Series at Adelaide. Crowned the 2003 champion following eight more wins on several different tracks that made up the 2003 schedule, winning the crown by an impressive 102 points.
2002
Scored his first career V8 Supercar Series win in the second round at Phillip Island after winning the pole position. Swept the series finale at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne to finish with three wins and 12 podium finishes for a third-place finish in the final series standings.
2001
Quickly showed the rest of the V8 Supercar Series in his series debut that he had the speed to contend for wins and championships as he qualified on the pole position for the support race to the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne driving a Ford Falcon AU. Finished with three pole positions and eight podium results on his way to an eighth-place series finish in his debut season.
1995 - 2000
Won four Tasmanian state karting titles and was the Australian karting champion in the Clubman Heavy class at the Dubbo circuit in New South Wales in 1995. Moved to Formula Ford in 1996, a series in which his family had great familiarity as his father, Ross Ambrose, co-founded the Formula Ford chassis builder, Van Diemen. Finished second in the 1997 Formula Ford championship. Moved to Europe in a bid to reach Formula One, competing in British Formula Ford in 1998 and 1999. In 1999 he won the European Formula Ford Championship. In 2000 he began the season racing in the French Formula Three Championship, before switching mid-season to the British Formula Three Championship. Moved back to Australia at the end of the 2000 season and competed in a Young Guns Invitational held at the Gold Coast Indy 300, winning against many younger drivers.