Aussie magazine honors Ambrose as driver of year

Marcos Ambrose has been voted the Australian Driver of the Year by Auto Action, an Australian weekly motorsports magazine.

Ambrose won the award, open to any Australian-born driver racing domestically or internationally, for his efforts in the No. 59 Ford Fusion in the 2007 Busch Series. Ambrose just finished his second year in NASCAR -- he competed in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006 -- after winning Australian V8 Supercar championships in 2003 and 2004.

Ambrose auction

Only 24 hours after is it was announced, Marcos Ambrose's 2006 Team Australia race suit has already rocketed to the $1,000 mark on eBay.

Ambrose wore the suit in July 2006 when he became the first Austrailian to score a pole in NASCAR, for an NCTS race at Kentucky Speedway.

"It's great that the interest in this great piece of memorabilia has been so good so quickly," Ambrose said of the autographed suit. "The price has shot up pretty quickly but I would like to think that it can go a lot higher."

Proceeds go to the Animal Adoption League. Fans can bid by visiting eBay. Full links and information can be found at www.marcosambrose.com.

The awards are decided by votes submitted by the fans.

"It's great to pick up an award like this one, especially because it is the fans that have cast their votes," Ambrose said. "When I announced I was leaving V8 Supercars to try and forge a career in NASCAR one thing I was very conscious of was not to leave my fans behind. I wanted them to be a part of my journey in the U.S. as much as possible.

"We have really been working at educating Australian fans about NASCAR and helped them to learn more about the racing. It has been exciting to teach all of my Australian fans about NASCAR and what a great sport it truly is. ... I owe a lot to all the Australian fans that have stuck by me and followed my racing in NASCAR."

Auto Action editor Andrew MacLean said that Ambrose's achievements in NASCAR had been a constant focus for the magazine.

"Marcos Ambrose's outstanding achievements in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2007 have not gone unnoticed, despite Australian fans getting little opportunity to see his racing up close, " MacLean said.

"Because of Ambrose's exploits, Auto Action has considerably increased its coverage of NASCAR racing this season. And it is clear our readers have gained a better understanding of the sport by voting Ambrose as the Australian Driver of the Year in Auto Action's annual Racer of the Year awards."

Ambrose topped the poll with 37 percent of the vote ahead of Team Australia Champ Car driver Will Power and fellow U.S.-based Australian Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing, who raced in the American Le Mans Series and Indianapolis 500 this year.

Ambrose, driving for Wood Brothers/JTG Racing, finished eighth in the 2007 Busch Series driver standings and was second in rookie points. Next season Ambrose will continue to drive the No. 59 Ford in NASCAR's second-tier series, renamed the Nationwide Series.

Ambrose also will race a minimum of 12 events in the Sprint Cup.

Ambrose is the first Australian to race full time in NASCAR and the first non-North American driver to finish in the top 10 in any of NASCAR's three national championship divisions.

The last non-United States driver to achieve the feat was Canadian Earl Ross, who finished eighth in Cup points in 1974.