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JELD-WEN Race Preview – Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

02 April 2009

FINAL WEEKEND FOR AMBROSE BUSHFIRE CHARITY AUCTION …

This weekend marks the final few days of the Marcos Ambrose bushfire charity auction.

Ambrose has two one-off items up for grabs via an online auction on his official website, MarcosAmbrose.com.

One item is a specially-painted Impact race helmet, painted to replicate an Australian CFA volunteer fire-fighting helmet and worn by the Australian NASCAR driver in Sprint Cup races in Bristol and Martinsville as well as this weekend in Texas.

The second item is a fire-fighting jacket, as worn by Yarra Glen CFA volunteer fire-fighter Steve Teear in the Black Saturday fires in Victoria, Australia in February.

The jacket has been signed by the Yarra Glen fire-fighting crew as well as some of the biggest stars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (see story below for full rundown on names).

CLICK HERE to bid now on the two charity auction items – all proceeds will go towards buying a new firetruck for the Yarra Glen Volunteer Fire Department.

Link: http://www.marcosambrose.com/auction_items.asp

JACKET SIGNATURES MAKE FOR A RARE COLLECTOR’S ITEM …

The signatures keep rolling in for one of the special items that Marcos Ambrose is auctioning to raise funds for the Yarra Glen fire department.

Three more names were added to the list of drivers that signed the special one-off piece of memorabilia last week in Martinsville and they are arguably the three biggest names in the Sprint Cup garage:

DALE EARNHARDT JR – JEFF GORDON – JIMMIE JOHNSON

That takes the total list of drivers to sign the fire-fighter’s jacket to:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr
• Jeff Gordon
• Jimmie Johnson
• Marcos Ambrose
• David Reutimann
• Michael Waltrip
• Matt Kenseth
• Kyle Busch
• Carl Edwards
• Kasey Kahne
• Kevin Harvick
• Ryan Newman
• Denny Hamlin
• Kurt Busch
• Bobby Labonte
• Jamie McMurray
• David Ragan
• Joey Logano
• Max Papis
• Aric Almirola

So what are you waiting for?

CLICK HERE to bid now on the two charity auction items – all proceeds will go towards buying a new firetruck for the Yarra Glen Volunteer Fire Department.

Link: http://www.marcosambrose.com/auction_items.asp

AMBROSE HAPPY TO BE BACK ON FAST TRACK IN TEXAS …

After two strong runs at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule’s short track venues, Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, Marcos Ambrose is happy to be returning to the bigger, faster style tracks.

Texas Motor Speedway is among the fastest tracks on the NASCAR schedule, up there with sister tracks such as Atlanta and Las Vegas.

The Superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega are much bigger race tracks, but as cars run restrictor plates at those venues it’s the 1.5-mile speedways with steep banking, such as Texas, that offer the highest top speeds.

FIRST RACE IN CLOROX COLOURS FOR AMBROSE …

Marcos Ambrose will make his first start in the colours of Clorox in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth this weekend.

Ambrose has raced in the colours of Kingsford for the past two seasons in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and also run in the colours of STP.

Both Kingsford and STP are brands of the Clorox Company and Clorox itself is one of the world’s best-known cleaning brands.

It will be the third livery for Ambrose this year, with the fourth colour scheme – for Bush’s Beans – to debut in Richmond, Virginia next month.

POINTS SITUATION SHOWS RECENT PROGRESS …

Marcos Ambrose currently sits 21st in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver’s standings after six races, a solid result given that 48 drivers and team have been entering each week so far this season.

Ambrose is just one point out of the top 20 in points and within 100 points of the top 12 cut-off for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But the driver himself is not looking at points and statistics this early in the season, keen to keep his eye on the job and continue to work with #47 crew chief Frank Kerr on ensuring the current pace of the JTG Daugherty Racing entry continues to grow.

MARCOS TWITTER ALMOST AT 500 …

Marcos Ambrose’s Twitter feed continues to grow in popularity, with the Australian NASCAR driver just a couple of ‘followers’ off the 500 mark.

Not bad considering the first ‘Tweet’ came on February 20, with some 60 updates since that first entry.

You can see Ambrose’s Twitter page at http://twitter.com/MarcosAmbrose

WHAT MARCOS HAS TO SAY:

On the track …

“My team-mate David Reutimann went to Texas in January to participate in a Goodyear tyre test,” said Ambrose.

“The test went really well. I feel like I can ask David any question about that track or any place for that matter. David, Michael and I are all using each other to get better and I think that shows.

“It’s a great track, one of the fastest we go to all season. The crowd is always great in Texas and it’s a fantastic facility. It’s a tough race track for the drivers and teams but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

On the race …

“We’ve had a great start to the season and this weekend will mark the first time that we have run the Clorox colours on our car," said Ambrose.

“It’s time for families to think about their Spring cleaning regimen and the best way to remind them would be to place the Clorox machine up front all weekend.

“If I am running with David and Michael (Waltrip), I know I am doing a good job.

“When I chose to come here, I wanted to see if I could compete in NASCAR. I wanted the opportunity to see if I could do it or if I need to pack up and head home to Australia.

“This deal is still new to me. Even though I am not labelled as a rookie, technically, I am a rookie. I still have to go to the rookie meetings.”

“We’re in the position to keep running well. We knew if we were fast enough, we would finish in the top 15 and then the top 10.

“Now, we’ve got to aim for top-five finishes. After two short track races, I'm ready to go back to a normal speedway."

Click on an image below for a larger view.

 

Audio: Texas - Marcos Ambrose says that he is looking forward to getting back to racing on the faster tracks such as Texas

Audio: Texas - Marcos Ambrose speaks about the crowd and experience of Texas Motor Speedway

 

More Information

Driver Profile

www.marcosambrose.com

Follow Marcos Ambrose on Twitter at twitter.com/MarcosAmbrose

 

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