Marcos Ambrose
No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford
Team: Richard Petty Motorsports
Crew Chief: Todd Parrott
2011 Stats
Wins: 1
Top-5s: 5
Top-10s: 12
Poles: 0
DNF: 1
Average Start: 17.5
Average Finish: 18.3
Races Led: 7
Laps Led: 49
% Laps Completed: 95.9%
Points Finish: 19th
2011 in a Nutshell
In his first season driving for Richard Petty Motorsports, Marcos Ambrose turned in what far and away can be classified as his best season in NASCAR. Topped by a memorable victory at Watkins Glen, the affable and ever-popular Aussie collected five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes and came home a respectable 19th in the yearend standings.
Reasons to Believe
He is phenomenal on the series’ two road courses, and barring a mechanical failure, is a surefire lock for a top-five finish at Infineon and Watkins Glen … Thanks to Ford’s horsepower and improved cars, courtesy of Roush Fenway, this team performed remarkably well last year on the intermediate tracks … Unlike his teammate in the 43 car, Aric Almirola, sponsorship isn’t a concern for the 9 team … Five finishes inside the top-11 in the year’s final nine races gave this team a shot in the arm heading into the offseason … Had as many, if not more top-fives as Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., both of whom made the Chase … Crew chief Todd Parrot may not have as good a grasp on the engineering side of things as the majority of newer crew chiefs in the garage, but what he does have is a keen understanding of how to make a car faster and what adjustments to make mid-race. He also knows how to motivate a driver like few can.
Reasons to Doubt
Ambrose’s seasons seems to hang on how he does in just two races. If he can win one or both, his season has a chance to be considered successful. If not, he’s more likely to get lost in the shuffle … Only 22 times in 2011 did Ambrose finish on the lead lap … He must run up front more and he must lead more than the 49 laps he led a year ago … Could make things easier for himself on raceday by qualifying better … Maybe due to his abrasive personality, Todd Parrott doesn’t often stick with one team too long … With the exception of Bristol, which he seems to have the hang of, short tracks continue to befuddle Ambrose.
Area of Strength: Turing left and right
Every time the circuit visits the Wine Country of Northern California or upstate New York, not only is Marcos Ambrose’s name on the short list of favorites, he is the favorite. I guess that’s to be expected when in eight combined starts at Infineon and Watkins Glen he has finished worse than sixth only once, and that was because of a faulty transmission.
Area of Weakness: The Tricky Triangle
With its three distinct and unique corners, Pocono Raceway has a reputation for driving like a road course. Which means this should be a place where the Aussie excels, considering his prowess on the road courses. Instead, it’s a place where he’s struggled, with finishes of 20th, 34th, 39th, 30th and 34th in his last five starts on the 2.5-mile track.
Best-case Scenario For 2012
Enough consistency to keep him in the top-20 in points along with a road course sweep is enough for Marcos Ambrose to qualify for the Chase via a wildcard berth.
Worst-case Scenario For 2012
Mechanical gremlins prevent Ambrose from scoring wins at either/both Infineon and Watkins Glen and he comes as close to making the Chase as you and I.
In Their Words
“The biggest asset to our team is that we haven’t changed, we’ve kept the foundation the same and we will be able to build off of that this year. We’ve built a really good relationship over the last year. We know what we need to do this year, we need to be better than 2011, and I think we are going to do that.”
–Marcos Ambrose
Predicted Number of Wins: 1
The Racing Geek’s Final Thought
Call me silly or worse if you so choose, but I think Marcos Ambrose is going to surprise people in 2012. He’s superb on the road courses, solid enough on the cookie-cutter tracks and has had success on the short tracks, particularly Bristol where’s he’s twice finished in the top-10. Add it all together and he has a very realistic chance of racing for the championship come September. Even if he struggles with consistency this year, a road course sweep might be enough to snag him a Chase wildcard.
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