Marcos Ambrose will drive in the Busch Series next season Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP

Aussie Ambrose happy with move to NASCAR

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Eddie Wood never imagined he'd see the day when his mechanics wore green bucket hats to the racetrack, but the mere thought of them makes him chuckle.

Blame it all on Marcos Ambrose.

Marcos Ambrose has had only two DNFs this season. Credit: Autostock

Inside the Numbers Marcos Ambrose's 2006 stats Race Start Finish Status Martinsville 20 33 running Gateway 19 34 crash Charlotte 3 36 crash Mansfield 28 23 running Dover 12 26 running Texas 21 27 running Michigan 2 26 running Milwaukee 9 18 running Kansas 4 3 running Kentucky 1 19 running Memphis 14 34 running ORP 19 22 running Nashville 11 3 running Bristol 9 26 running Loudon 14 23 running Las Vegas 6 7 running Average 12.0 22.5

Ambrose, 30, has brought a touch of Australia to one of NASCAR's most traditional teams, and his rapid development has been one of the more surprising stories of the 2006 Craftsman Truck Series season.

In addition to a pair of third-place finishes, Ambrose made sure his team was fitted with quirky green bucket hats.

"We are pretty easygoing back home in Australia, and we felt the bucket hat would be pretty fitting," Ambrose said. "It's a beautiful day and we are racing in the sunshine most of the time, so why not have a bucket hat? We call them surf hats, but I guess it is a bucket hat."

The laid-back Ambrose also carries a self-depreciating sense of humor.

"I am a pretty bad mechanic," Ambrose said. "I get the hammers out, and that is never a good thing."

Ford brought Ambrose to the United States after a hugely successful career in V8 Supercar racing in Australia, where he won back-to-back titles, and his transition to trucks has gone better then expected.

Wood paired Ambrose with veteran crew chief Gary Cogswell. It took the two men several races to nail down communications because Ambrose's feedback has a pronounced European flair. For example, he calls a crash a "shunt."

"You know, I am starting to get comfortable in my surroundings a little more," said Ambrose, who finished sixth two weeks ago at Las Vegas. "I am starting to understand what the crew chiefs want and how the teams work and how the whole show works."

Ambrose, a native of Launceston, Tazmania, has jumped feet-first into NASCAR, moving his wife and daughter to Charlotte from their home in Queensland.

John Deere 250 Lineup Pos. Driver Speed Time 1. M. Martin 182.320 52.523 2. D. Ragan 181.770 52.682 3. Hamilton Jr. 181.494 52.762 4. T. Bodine 180.829 52.956 5. J. Benson 180.441 53.070 6. E. Darnell 180.193 53.143 7. J. Sprague 180.132 53.161 8. B. Lester 180.058 53.183 9. D. Starr 179.834 53.249 10. R. Crawford 179.753 53.273 30. Ambrose 176.480 54.261 • Complete lineup, click here

"You know, I have got a great girl and she has been with me since I was 16," Ambrose said. "I have dragged her around the world two or three times already. She is a good sort and we are raising a family."

That family is probably going to remain stateside for at least a few more years. Last week, Wood Brothers Racing announced that Ambrose would move to the Busch Series next season, and Wood wants to eventually move Ambrose to the Nextel Cup level.

"He just adapted really well and really quickly," Wood said. "He has a very good attitude. He is right on top of his game. He has been doing a very good job.

"He did so well this year that we decided to go to the Busch car. He is a champion in his own right. A racecar driver is a racecar driver, and he adapted really quick."

Ambrose moved to the United States with zero oval racing experience. His initiation into NASCAR came in April at Martinsville Speedway, and predictably, Ambrose crashed.

"We didn't last too long in the race," Ambrose said. "That was a big turning point for me. It was the moment where we said 'OK, we have got to step back here a moment, I don't know how to race these trucks in a pack. Let's go to the back for awhile and learn.'"

Things became much better for Ambrose when the circuit began to move to the high-banked, high-speed tracks. Ambrose had a much easier time qualifying at those venues, and he began to gain confidence.

In the spring, Ambrose was merely trying to stay out of the way. After failing to finish better than 23rd in any of his first eight races, Ambrose finished third at Kansas in July, and better results began to follow.

"The biggest thing is to learn [that] you have veterans and rookies out there and you don't know who is who and what's what," Ambrose said. "You have really got to position yourself and stay out of trouble and that is what is hardest about trucks."

Ambrose won the pole and finished third at Kentucky, but the short tracks continued to expose his lack of oval experience, and he didn't finish in the top 20 at Memphis, IRP or Bristol.

"We feel like we have a handle on the bigger tracks, but those little bullrings have really got me beaten at the moment," Ambrose said. "What we are after now is just consistency. The short tracks have been hard for me to deal with. Just driving them is OK, but I can't race there and I have got to learn that before we can be consistent week to week."