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Ambrose to Close Chapter on First Season in NASCAR This Weekend in Miami

Staff, Wednesday November 15, 2006.

Page 1 of 1

Marcos Ambrose will close the first chapter of his NASCAR career this weekend when the Australian races in the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

The Team Australia Ford F-150 driver will be out to cap a remarkable debut season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series as he chases second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings as well as his third top five finish of the year. After a string of solid results, Ambrose now lies just one point behind Chad McCumbee for second place in the rookie standings.

It will be Ambrose?s 22nd start in NASCAR and in that short space of time the two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion has risen from a NASCAR novice to knocking on the door of second place in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings, having already achieved two third place finishes, four top 10 finishes, one Budweiser Pole award, one Mobil 1 Command Performance award and one WIX Air Filter Lap Leader award.

Despite missing the first three races of the championship the Tasmanian native now lies inside the top 20 in the series standings, placed 19th heading into this weekend?s season finale on what has been billed ?the Ford Championship Weekend?.

The last race of the season also comes on a 1-5 mile oval, a style of speedway the Australian has mastered quickly in his rookie season, although his late season form has shown that he now excels on many different varieties of tracks.

Ambrose has undertaken a significant journey to move his family's life to the other side of the world to try and break into the tough NASCAR racing scene. When the chequered flag falls on this weekend's Ford 200, the first chapter will have been successfully completed, and the next already in Ambrose's ambitious sights.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY ?

Marcos Ambrose ? #20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150

?Going into the last race of the season it feels like I?ve barely started,? said Ambrose.

?The year has just flown by and I?ve really enjoyed racing so often.

?Everything about NASCAR is geared up around racing every weekend, so the Truck Series actually feels a little broken up in comparison, with only 25 races compared to 35 in Busch and Cup.

?The way this year has flown by has been quite amazing and it has been a really fantastic experience running against all these drivers and teams in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

?It would be nice to say that I finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year title, so that is something I?ll be aiming for. It?s not a huge deal because the title is wrapped up and coming second is not really the reason we go racing.

?But I?d like to get the runner-up spot because it has been a very strong year for rookies in the truck series this year, so it would be very good to say you were second in such a strong year.

?Miami is a little flatter than some of the other 1.5-mile ovals but I?m excited about this weekend. I?m looking forward to finishing the final track of the season strongly.

?This is the last race of the season but the work doesn?t really end in Miami because we have a Busch program to think about for next season.

?I?d definitely like to win a race for Team Australia in Miami. Craig Gore and everyone involved in the Team Australia program has been great to me and I?d like to repay their efforts with a win.

?It?s been a year of good results, but not great. We are still pushing for that first win but we have been running strongly over this last part of the season, so I?m looking forward to this weekend.?

2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Points ? After Race 24
? Marcos Ambrose did not compete in the first three rounds of the championship.

1. Todd Bodine 3566, 2. Johnny Benson 3454, 3. David Reutimann 3383, 4. Ted Musgrave 3250, 5. David Starr 3209, 6. Ron Hornaday Jr 3192, 7. Jack Sprague 3173, 8. Mike Skinner 3156, 9. Rick Crawford 3134, 10. Terry Cook 3126, 19. Marcos Ambrose 2146.

2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Raybestos Rookie of the Year Points ? After Race 24

1. Erik Darnell 206, 2. Chad McCumbee 148, 3. Marcos Ambrose 147, 4. Aric Almirola 141, 5. Bobby East 123, 6. Kerry Earnhardt 101, 7. Erin Crocker 101, 8. Boston Reid 99, 9. Joey Miller 96, 10. Kraig Kinser 83.

MARCOS AMBROSE FAST FACTS
? Ambrose has earned US$245,003 in 21 starts this season
? Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
? Ambrose won two consecutive Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series titles in
2003 and 2004 for Ford
? Drives the #20 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150 for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
? Achieved his best result when he finished third at Kansas Speedway on July 1 in only his ninth NASCAR event. Also finished third in Race 16 in Nashville, his 13th NASCAR event
? Ambrose is one of only two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year contenders to score a top three finish this season
? Ambrose is the only Raybestos Rookie to capture WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honours in the Craftsman Truck Series this season. Ambrose led twice for 49 laps to claim the honor in the Built Ford Tough 225 in Kentucky
? Became the first Australian to lead laps in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
? Is the first non-American driver to finish in the top five of a NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series event since Canadian Ron Fellows won on the Watkins Glen road course on 26 June 1999
? Ambrose won his first Budweiser Pole in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway on July 8
? Ambrose is the first non-Amercian driver to win a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole since 26 June 1999 when Ron Fellows of Canada qualified first at Watkins Glen International
? This was the first pole for the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team and the first pole for crew chief Gary Cogswell
? Ambrose has now qualified in the top 10 for eight of his 19 NASCAR starts to date
? scored his third top 10 finish of his rookie season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, also his third Raybestos Rookie of the Race award
? earned his fourth top 10 finish in his 20th NASCAR start at Texas Motor Speedway
? Ambrose will drive the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series

TIPS FOR AUSTRALIAN FANS
There are several websites relating to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where you can follow Ambrose?s progress.

The best four we have discovered so far are the official NASCAR.com site, truckseries.com, teamaustraliamotorsport.com and woodbrothersjtg.com

You can register for Track Pass on the NASCAR site, which will give you access to radio broadcasts, in-car audio and video of most races for a fee, but you will need a US credit card (so ring a mate!).

You can get a free lap-by-lap written commentary of the races on truckseries.com by going to the trackside area of the site. There are also pre and post race audio interviews.

There are two other websites that have radio coverage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races, www.wysham.com and www.radiocoloradonetwork.com

RACE SCHEDULE
Practice 1
Friday 17 November 2006
8:30am ? 9:30am ET
Final Practice
Friday 17 November 2006
10:25am ? 11:25am ET
Qualifying
Friday 17 November 2006
5:00pm ET
Race ? 134 laps
Friday 17 November 2006
8:00pm ET

AUSTRALIAN TIMES
(Eastern Daylight Savings Time)
Practice 1
Saturday 17 November 2006
12:30am ? 1:30am EDST
Final Practice
Saturday 17 November 2006
2:25am ? 3:25am EDST
Qualifying
Friday 17 November 2006
9:00am EDST
Race ? 134 laps
Friday 17 November 2006
12:00pm EDST (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, ACT)
11:30am South Australian time
11:00am Queensland time
10:30am Northern Territory time
9:00am Western Australian time

ABOUT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY
Loca! tion: Homestead, Florida
Race Distance: 134 laps = 201 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Degree of Banking in Turns: 18-20 degrees, variable
Degree of Banking in Straights: 4 degrees

CRAFTSMAN TRUCK RECORD BOOK
Race Record: Ron Hornaday Jr, 2002 (133.260mph/1hr 30min 30sec)
Qualifying Record: David Reutimann, 2005 (173.116mph/31.193sec)
Defending Champion: Todd Bodine
Defending Polesitter: David Reutimann

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