Marcos Ambrose to leave Richard Petty Motorsports, returning to native Australia

By Sep 13, 2014, 11:38 AM EDT
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JOLIET, Ill. — In a move not necessarily unexpected, Richard Petty Motorsports announced Saturday morning that Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, will not return to the team or NASCAR for the 2015 season.

There have been several months of speculation that Ambrose would be returning to his native Australia after this season, with the likelihood that he’ll return to racing in the Australian V8 SuperCars Series, where he won the championship in 2003 and 2004. He finished third in 2005 before coming to the United States to begin his NASCAR career the following season (2006) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

A team source said the organization is looking at two or three different candidates to fill Ambrose’s seat. Immediate speculation includes Nationwide and Sprint Cup series veterans Sam Hornish Jr., Elliott Sadler and David Ragan,  as well as perhaps a younger driver currently in the Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series.

Ambrose, who just turned 38 on Sept. 1, has been rumored to potentially drive next season in the V8 Supercars series for a new team that would include full or co-ownership by current NASCAR and IndyCar owner Roger Penske.

MORE: Report: Deal for Marcos Ambrose’ return to Australia to race V8 Supercars for Roger Penske may be close

MORE: Report: Will Marcos Ambrose return to native Australia and V8 Supercars to race for Roger Penske?

The move was not necessarily a surprise. Petty somewhat predicted it back in January, telling MotorSportsTalk, “I don’t know how much longer he wants to stay in the U.S. You know, (Ambrose has) come a long way. He’s sort of a hero in Australia just because he’s running Cup. His big deal is if he could win on a round and around racetrack, that would be the optimum for him. If he did do that, he’d probably just go home and say, ‘Thank you guys,’ but I don’t know.”

MORE: Marcos Ambrose: Not looking to leave U.S. or Richard Petty Motorsports

Here is Saturday’s official statement from the team on Ambrose’s pending departure:

“Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that the No. 9 team will move forward with a new driver in 12015. Marcos Ambrose, who has been with RPM since 2011, has informed the organization that he will return to his native home of Australia in 2015. This was a personal decision by Ambrose.

“At this time RPM is currently evaluating several driver opportunities to help the No. 9 team (going) forward and will make a future announcement at the appropriate time.

“Richard Petty, co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, is thankful for Ambrose and his dedication to the team:

“Marcos will always be part of our extended racing family,” Petty said. “He came over to the United States with his family and dedicated his time here to giving it the best he had each week. I couldn’t ask anything more from Marcos and his commitment on and off of the track to our race team and our partners. Away from the track, he’s a family person first. That’s something I respect and we’ll miss Marcos, (his wife) Sonja and their children.”

Ambrose has made 217 career starts in the Sprint Cup Series, has two wins (both at Watkins Glen International), 18 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes. He also has made 77 starts in the Nationwide Series, with five wins, nine top-five and 18 top-10 showings.

While Ambrose’s contract runs through the end of the current season, it’s unclear whether he will complete the remainder of this season or potentially leave the team early to begin preparations for the next chapter of his racing career.

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Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”