SONOMA, Calif. -- Leaning against a counter in a Wood Brothers hauler parked in the very back of the Sprint Cup garage area, inhaling a quick lunch of spaghetti out of a plastic container, Marcos Ambrose wouldn't even allow himself to think about it.

"Let me get the car in the race, and then we'll think about it," he said. "I just really am focused on getting this car in, having a really good [qualifying] lap. I'm going to give up a little bit to be safe, safer than I would otherwise be. I just want to get in the show."

That was Friday, about an hour before qualifying for Sunday's event at Infineon Raceway, and Ambrose's anxiety level was at its peak. The Australian road racer had been brought to Sonoma to help the struggling Wood Brothers team get their car into the Toyota/Save Mart 350, and raised the stakes considerably by posting the fastest time in the weekend's opening practice session. So much was on the line -- a race berth for a team well outside the top 35, a first Sprint Cup start for a 32-year-old driver in a young man's sport, a moment that could define a season for the Wood Brothers and a career for Ambrose.

The next hour would decide it all. Ambrose, brimming with nervous energy, was ready for it.

"I feel like I've paid my dues somewhat," he said. "I feel like my results quite haven't been enough to warrant being angry about not being given the chance, because right now, I feel like the time is right. I've been patient, and I've got my chance with the Wood Brothers here. It's up to me to make it stick."

It's been a long journey for Ambrose, in more ways than one. The former Australian V8 Supercar champion had never raced on ovals before he came to America with only the framework of a deal cobbled together with Nationwide Series car owner Tad Geschickter, who once had an alliance with the Woods. Sharing the same facility, Eddie Wood saw what Ambrose was capable of on road courses, posting top-10s at Mexico City and Montreal. Before this season began, they cut a deal for Ambrose to drive the Woods' No. 21 car at Sonoma.

"It's fortunate to have a road racer of Marcos' caliber in the car when you have to get in at a road course," Wood said Friday. "A lot of these guys who are close on the top 35 have put road racers in. But he did a really good job. I'm really happy right now."

But he wasn't taking anything for granted. "Trust me, after you get in this top 35 nightmare, any race is wonderful to be in," Wood said. "I don't care where it is. It doesn't matter. It's so hard to get into these things, and it's so competitive, having to deal with that is a nightmare, it really is."

That nightmare ended after Ambrose did was he was hired for, and easily qualified the car for Sunday's event. He did it with plenty of room to spare, flirting with the pole halfway through his lap before throttling back, playing it conservatively and posting a speed good enough to merit a seventh-place position on the starting grid.

For Ambrose, it was a breakthrough. He had tried to make his first Cup start last year in Robby Gordon-owned car at Watkins Glen, but qualifying was rained out and he went home early. He tried again last fall at Dover, but it was too close to his pregnant wife's due date and he decided to stay at home.

"I chose to be a wise man and was home for the birth," he said. "She was born on the Sunday of last year's Dover [race], so it actually worked out pretty good. I'm really keen to get my first Cup start. I think it's going to get a monkey off my back. It's going to be great."

So was just clinching it. Ambrose wasn't sure of exactly where he had qualified when he pulled his car back into the garage Friday afternoon, but he knew it had been more than enough to get in. He slid out the driver's seat, smiled for the TV cameras, and the relief came out in a torrent.

"It's like a huge weight's been lifted off my shoulders," he said. "I hear these guys who qualify in every week saying, 'Oh, it's been a big pressure, blah blah blah.' Well, it is. It's just massive. It was harder lining up here to qualify than what it was lining up with one race to go to win a championship in Australia. The pressure was intense. One lap, three quarters of a lap to warm up, go or go home 4,000 miles, first Cup race, all that kind of stuff. Even going fastest in practice, it even added more. You expect to get in there. It's just been an awesome day. I feel like I've survived a marathon of stress and anxiety. I'm just going to really enjoy it."

“

It's like a huge weight's been lifted off my shoulders. It was harder lining up here to qualify than what it was lining up with one race to go to win a championship in Australia.

”

MARCOS AMBROSE

He backed up that performance Saturday, posting the fastest time in final practice before flying to Milwaukee for that night's Nationwide event. While Ambrose scraped the wall in Turn 10 and suffered some body damage, he fared better than David Reutimann, who crashed in the first practice, went to a backup car -- necessitating a start at the rear of the field Sunday -- turned his car over to Infineon driving-school instructor Chris Cook for happy hour, and bolted for Milwaukee. A.J. Allmendinger will also have to start at the rear after blowing an engine in the final session.

But they were all chasing Ambrose, whose times opened plenty of eyes in the Sprint Cup garage.

"I've heard of how good of a road racer he is," said five-time Infineon winner Jeff Gordon. "We've seen what he's done. I think that's fantastic to see him running that good, and I hope he keeps it up. It's always exciting to see somebody new into the mix."

Added Kurt Busch, who will start third: "He seems to be doing really well. I'm sure that the Wood Brothers told him that it pays a whole lot better to be 43rd than 44th, so he had to make sure that he put a lap underneath him to go out there and make the race. We'll see how he does on Sunday. We're looking forward to him running well."

Is he a legitimate threat to win the race? Second-place qualifier Jimmie Johnson isn't sure.

"I've not really raced with him much, so it's hard for me to really speak in a way about what I'd expect to see on Sunday," Johnson said. "He's won championships coming into the [Nationwide] Series and was very close to winning his first one in Canada a while back. So I think he'll be there. The Cup race itself is a little different than what he's experienced in the [Nationwide] Series and these cars are much different, so I'm not ruling it out. I think it would be difficult for him, but he's done a great job. He's really put up great laps the whole time we've been here."

Marcos Ambrose, winning a Sprint Cup race? In a Wood Brothers car? It seems unthinkable. But after the last two days in Sonoma, nobody is counting him out. He's beaten long odds already, just to get into the race.

"I feel like today is one of those days in your life where you know you've done something special," Ambrose said Friday. "The Wood Brothers have had a tough couple of years. We bounced back here today. Top of the time sheets in practice, qualify in the top 10, it's just an awesome, awesome day for us."