Marcos Ambrose & Trucks

Axeman444 · 15 Aug 2006, 08:05 (Ref:1682939)

as an Aussie and a supporter of Marcos Ambrose racing in the truck series i'm wondering how he has been received by the American public and/or other drivers?

scramble · 17 Aug 2006, 05:59 (Ref:1684664)

The silence should answer your question.

Axeman444 · 17 Aug 2006, 08:16 (Ref:1684766)

Quote:

Originally Posted by scramble

The silence should answer your question.

yes but i'm trying to work out if the answer is

a) no one likes him and won't say a good thing about him
b) no one hates him and won't say a bad thing about him
c) everyone is indifferent and couldn't say a thing about him
d) no one cares either way about him
e) no one cares about truck racing

hoffy · 17 Aug 2006, 12:44 (Ref:1684991)

I would say E) no one cares much about trucks here & I would add an F) option. Why ask what the americans think, on an European based forum?

Go over to truckseries.com & read the discussions there. You might get a better response

Knowlesy · 17 Aug 2006, 19:26 (Ref:1685356)

Personally, I'd love to know how Ambrose is doing, as well as the other CT competitiors. I just have no way of following the series in any decent way!

R59 · 17 Aug 2006, 23:22 (Ref:1685567)

Likewise, it's a shame that CT isn't shown on Motors, or Eurosport. We've got John Mickel starting over there soon too. John used to run the Torquespeed ASCAR/SCSA team in the UK, and has "emigrated" his motorsport to the US, and is doing CT.

If you want a little team info, Marcos is being run by the Wood Brothers/JTG/STMotorsports team - www.stmotorsports.com - it's not great for up to the minute news, but it's better than being hit in the eye with a kipper.

He's in the same team that runs my "cousin" in the 59 car over there. Spooky, Stacy Compton run's 59 - a number that I've had/used for 16 years!

Rob.

Hazza · 17 Aug 2006, 23:27 (Ref:1685573)

He managed to get 3rd last race, and also in the last 4 race his qualifying has been avaraged at about 4.0. Pretty good for a rookie.

Axeman444 · 18 Aug 2006, 00:06 (Ref:1685599)

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoffy

Why ask what the americans think, on an European based forum?

why have the forum then...???

Axeman444 · 18 Aug 2006, 00:24 (Ref:1685604)

MNews is great at reporting his results etc, i was just wondering what the Americans have to say about him, something i doubt you will get in an unbiased way from MNews

hoffy · 18 Aug 2006, 03:02 (Ref:1685640)

OK, let me quantify my response. This Forum as a whole (I.E., ten-tenths.com) is a European based forum, with contributors mainly coming from Europe (& quite a slice of Aussies).

Die Hard American NASCAR fans, generally dont know about any othe forms of Motor Sport or care for that fact. Why would they frequent a motorsport forum that generally deals with European based racing series, but does have one small section on NASCAR?

Go to truckseries.com, have a read of the discussion area & make your own judgement of what a lot of our American cousins think of Marcos (Put it this way, I think there are more people in Australia who dont like Marcos then in the US of A)

Hazza · 18 Aug 2006, 03:49 (Ref:1685647)

We cater for anything and everything. And I like it.

And plus our moderation standards are higher than most places, which is good.

StuiE · 18 Aug 2006, 11:31 (Ref:1685892)

We have some pretty good American posters in the Nascar and Champcar sections...

Ambrose would be doing pretty well in the championship if he didn't have to miss all those races at the start of the season, he's 26th at the moment, with his teammate just ahead and he's taken part in one more race than Marcos.

VilleneuveTracy · 18 Aug 2006, 23:30 (Ref:1686370)

The CTS series is much less popular than NASCAR's top two divisions so it just gets very little attention anyway. The only drivers in it who get some attention is the championship contenders. Ambrose will get more attention if he keeps running like he has lately, but at the end of the day, the vast majority of US racing fans won't really care about him as long as he is in the CTS series, unless he contends for a championship. I think he will get proper attention when he moves to the Busch or cup series. I wouldn't be surprised if he went straight to the cup series.

As far as how he is doing, he ran poorly at the beginning of the year. In his first eight races he had no top 25 finish. Lately, though, he has shown marked improvement. He has two 3rd place finishes (including the last race), a pole, led the most laps in one race, in the last five races. If he were an ordinary rookie he would be doing well, but given the fact that he is also adjusting to a new form of racing his performance thus far is impressive. It takes time to adjust to NASCAR and he already is mixing it up on occassion with the series' top drivers, some of whom are former cup series drivers.

The weak point he seems to have right now is short tracks. NASCAR classifies all tracks shorter than a mile as "short tracks." They require somewhat different skills than the tracks NASCAR normally runs on. I think Ambrose will adjust to short tracks but it isn't even that big of a liability. Only six of the 36 cup races are held on short tracks (only one of the 10 "playoff" races is held at a short track). If he can run well at the other tracks, including the two road courses, he could do well in the series even without being good on short tracks. Some of NASCAR's top drivers are not great on short tracks. I think he should be ready for the Bush Series for next season.

I think my view of Ambrose was typical of many US NASCAR fans. I knew he was in the series, thought it was cool to have a foreign driver from a distant place in the series (many NASCAR fans would not feel the way as there is a fair amount of xenophobia among NASCAR nation, but even they at least are flattered a bit that "their series" attracted a foreign driver ), but didn't think much about him. Then I saw him finish 3rd in the last race and looked him up on the internet and found out that he was a big fish in Australia. Having a driver of his caliber come to NASCAR is a great asset for NASCAR. You can count me as someone who has become an Ambrose fan. I am sure he will turn heads when he gets to the higher series. I can't wait to see him on a road course.

How big of a fanbase does he have in Australia and how much of that will follow him to the cup series? Imagine NASCAR making huge inroads in Canada, Columbia, and Oz/Nz with Villeneuve, Montoya, and Ambrose in NASCAR. F1 better watch out.

marcus · 19 Aug 2006, 08:17 (Ref:1686484)

great post

it sort of sums up the original question.

as for Marcos back home here in Oz its a kind of love/hate relationship with the fans , simply because our main series is too bias towards manufacturers , he drove for Ford and therefore most Holden fans wont even bother caring on how he is doing.

but Im a Holden fan and appreciated Marcos in our series and have certainly tried to follow him over in the states , he is a very talented drive and I hope he does really well at it

Hazza · 20 Aug 2006, 06:12 (Ref:1686935)

I adopt the same attitude as marcus towards 'Marcus' (See that? See what I did there?

) I think he's extremely talented, and I hope he gets into the cup and gets more coverage. But now he's not one of the 'enemy' (directly speaking) I support his actions more.

VilleneuveTracy · 21 Aug 2006, 04:15 (Ref:1687850)

Thanks marcus.

What kind of media coverage is he getting in Australia right now? Is he big in New Zealand too? It would be great if he brings millions of news fans along with him to the cup series.

hoffy · 21 Aug 2006, 04:35 (Ref:1687855)

munch, munch, munch....thats the noise of me eating my words.....

Oh & that is an excellent post there VT....If I were Mr Ecclstone Or Mr Mosely I would be watching very closely what is happening on the Ovals in Southern USA, with a little bit of worry.

To answer your question, Marcos has a very good fan base in NZ as well (he drove for Stone Brothers Racing in Australia. The Stone Brothers originate from NZ, so there is quiet a tie in there).

FYI, if there are Aussies interested in following Marcos live during races, you can always use the trackside live function on Truckseries.com, which will give you live updates of the races every few minutes or so. Or you can also listen live on http://www.wysham.com/

Hazza · 21 Aug 2006, 04:42 (Ref:1687858)

That is if you are up at 4am in the morning.

VilleneuveTracy · 21 Aug 2006, 06:12 (Ref:1687886)

Thanks, Hoffy.

I agree, Bernie and Max should not take NASCAR lightly. As far as the racing product goes, NASCAR is a million times better. There are at least a dozen winners in NASCAR each year, there are several passes for the lead each race, there are a million overall passes each race, and it is very unpredictable. In F1 we knew in advance that the next race will be won by either Alonso or MS, barring freak circumstances. By lap one of the race it is 95% certain who is going to win. In contrast, look at today's cup race. Dale Jr. was dominant but wound up finishing 6th. NASCAR also has many characters in the series, not bland robots (it is a sad reflection on F1 that it has lost its two biggest characters within about a month). The advantage F1 has is its technology and talent pool. NASCAR will never surpass F1 in technology--it doesn't even want to. NASCAR sometimes bans innovation if it gives a team "too much" of an advantage. Its emphasis is on competition, not technology and innovation. We can debate whether this is right but that is its philosophy. F1 draws the world's best from around the world, aside from the US. That enables it to be seen as the top series in the world and also it brings the fanbases of these drivers to F1. If NASCAR can continue to attract big foreign names it will become a more prestigious series and be exposed to many other people. If it gets exposure elsewhere it will give F1 a run for its money, if not overtake it. For instance, when Ambrose comes to the cup series, and assuming he gets a ride with a competitive team (I suspect RCR would take a serious look at him. Childress seems to have faith in ousiders. He hired Robby Gordon, Sarah Fisher and gave Paul Tracy a test), I wouldn't be surprised if NASCAR became more popular in Australia than F1.

Do they televise the Busch Series in Australia? If so, I have a feeling you will be able to watch him race next year.

hoffy · 21 Aug 2006, 07:12 (Ref:1687918)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazza

That is if you are up at 4am in the morning.

AHHH, but thats where you are wrong. The majority of the truck races are generally run in the early evening or at night. Out of the last 3 or 4 races, they have started between 8:00am & 10:00am Australian time.

the next race, which is at the Bristol track (OHHH My gawd....is that a massive stadium) is this Wednesday, night time in the US. I am not sure what that translate to in Aussie time, but I am sure it will be relativly civilised

kingfloopy · 21 Aug 2006, 12:15 (Ref:1688065)

As an American I'm glad Ambrose is racing in NASCAR. I've always wondered why more Austrailia drivers haven't tried NASCAR in the past. He's been running really well as of late and I think he is more than capable of winning. The team he is driving for is also very loyal and has a tendency to keep drivers on for the long term. They want to build their future so even if he has a lean time they should stick with him and work towards success.

J.D.

Hazza · 21 Aug 2006, 12:38 (Ref:1688074)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VilleneuveTracy

Thanks, Hoffy.

Do they televise the Busch Series in Australia? If so, I have a feeling you will be able to watch him race next year.

Yes, on cable TV.

StuiE · 22 Aug 2006, 12:35 (Ref:1688693)

RYR could poach Marcos for next year in Cup, while I'm sorta dreaming, it isn't impossible with how they are going, the car wouldn't be any worse than the Wood Bros. cup car either.

lookleft · 24 Aug 2006, 00:35 (Ref:1690051)

Quote:

Originally Posted by VilleneuveTracy

..... I can't wait to see him on a road course.

Can't really understand why one of the Busch teams at least didn't take a punt on him for Watkins Glen. Was there a clash? He might have shown Gordon how you actually PASS, not crash into, another car...

I know there are many road racers that do those events but you could argue the cars Ambrose has come out of are closer to Nextel / Busch cars than the GT cars the others typically step out of. Only have to wait 12 months

Hazza · 24 Aug 2006, 01:11 (Ref:1690055)

I can see the logic that if in his rookie year he can qual near the front and get in the top three, he might do a little better on courses he is familier with.

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