Marcos Ambrose

Birthday: 09/01/1976
Hometown: Launceston, , Australia

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011 -- Finished 19th in series points. ... Career year highlighted by eight-point improvement in Loop Data Driver Rating over 2010. ... Road-course ace won first career race at Watkins Glen. ... Career bests in top-five (five) and top-10 finishes (12). ... Career-best average finish of 18.3. ... Best start, second at Las Vegas. ... Career-best average start of 17.5. ... Career bests in DNFs (one) and lead-lap finishes (22). ... Completed 95.9 percent of laps attempted. ... Ranked second in Loop Data "Closers" category. ... Third in Sprint Showdown.

2010 -- Finished 26th in series points. ... Career-best second-place start at Martinsville-2. ... Best finish third, Watkins Glen. ... Fifth in Sprint Showdown.

2009 -- Finished 18th in series points. ... Posted career-highs in top-fives (four), top-10s (seven) and top-10 starts (six) proving he was far more than a road-course specialist. ... Two of his top-fives came on road courses (Infineon, third, and Watkins Glen, second), but he was fourth on a restrictor-plate track (Talladega), and third on a short track (Bristol).

2008 -- Finished 45th in series points. ... Had one top-five finish, a third-place run at Watkins Glen. ... Ran 11 races for three different teams: JTG Daugherty Racing, Wood Brothers and Michael Waltrip Racing.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

In 2011, won Montreal NASCAR Nationwide Series race, marking fourth consecutive year with a series win. ... Won NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Watkins Glen International road course from 2008-10. ... In 2007, finished eighth in NASCAR Nationwide Series points as a rookie. Earned pole at Memphis on Oct. 27. Had one top-five and six top-10s. ... In 2006, finished 21st in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points. Won the pole at Kentucky. Qualified third in series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Finished third in ninth career start, at Kansas.

NOTEWORTHY

Won four Tasmanian Junior karting titles before starting senior competition at age 16. ... Won 1999 British Formula Ford championship. ... Stone Brothers Racing Team and Ford signed him to drive in the V8 Supercar Series, an Australian national road racing series, in 2001; named Rookie of the Year. ... First race victory came in 2002 at Phillip Island course. ... Won consecutive titles (2003-2004) in V8 Supercar, winning 27 races. ... Scored a round win in every Supercar season in which he competed. ... Operates Marcos Ambrose Motorsport, a late model stock car team designed to give opportunities to young Australian drivers.