MOTORSPORT: Ambrose in NASCAR's big league

Thursday motorsport reportAugust 9, 2007

It was Gordon who punted Ambrose out of the chance of his first win in NASCAR's secondary Busch Series on the streets of Montreal, Canada, just last Sunday morning, Australian time.

For that sin, Gordon was banned from racing the following day in the Nextel Cup race at Pocono, Pennsylvania, and this week he has been fined US$35,000 by NASCAR, put on probation until the end of the year, and told he could be suspended indefinitely if he plays up again.

One thing we have not seen any confirmation of throughout the week is just how much Gordon cost Ambrose in Montreal, where the dual Australian V8 Supercar champion ultimately finished seventh when he should have won or at least been second.

Apart from championship points foregone, we've seen some mention that the difference in prizemoney between first and seventh was US$116,440 -- or A$136,000 -- but have been unable to easily verify that, although it's believable as the total prize pool for the race was over US$2 million.

While Gordon seemed to have been hot-headed and obstinate on the day, even doing "victory" donuts after taking the chequered flag under a black flag, it wasn't hard to see that he owed Ambrose a good turn.

Despite some of the things that were said about Gordon in the post-race heat of Montreal, our distant and brief encounters with him years ago left us with the distinct impression that he's a pretty decent bloke.

And now he's shown that by giving Ambrose a start in his spare Ford Fusion for this weekend's Nextel Cup round at the famous Watkins Glen road course in upstate New York.

Gordon says the idea came from an email he received from a fan.

We wonder whether there may not have been other forces at work, either within NASCAR officialdom or the "public relations" domain.

Whatever, it is great to see Ambrose getting a crack at the biggest league in American stock car racing.

And let there be no mistake about how big it is.

NASCAR is variously reported to be either the second or third largest sport in the US, even though some of its television ratings have been a little soft over the past year or so.

While it is a sport raced almost exclusively in the US, and the overwhelming bulk of its audience is there, an indicator we well recall of its enormity is that in 1992, when Nigel Mansell won the Formula 1 world title, it was estimated he may have made about US$12 million, yet that same year NASCAR'S Richard "The King" Petty was in his farewell season and reportedly made US$60 million.

Ambrose becomes the seventh Australian to drive in NASCAR's top division -- and the first since Geoff Brabham raced at the initial Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 13 years ago in 1994.

Dick Johnson, the legendary Australian touring car racer who now has more than his share of headaches keeping his V8 Supercar team afloat, is the only Aussie to have raced a NASCAR at Watkins Glen -- 17 years ago.

The Glen was home to the US F1 grand prix in the 1960s and '70s.

It is a revered road course in a country that much prefers oval tracks.

As pleased as we are to see Ambrose having his Nextel Cup debut there this weekend, there is a big unanswered question: Whatever happened to the plan for him to do it with his regular team, Wood Brothers/JTG Racing?

Ambrose will drive his usual No. 59 Ford Fusion in the Busch Series round at the Glen for that outfit on Sunday, our time, then switch in to the No. 77 Fusion from Robby Gordon Motorsports for the Nextel Cup race that will be screened in Australia on Foxsports early Monday.

Much was made just before last Christmas that Ambrose's deal with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing would involve a full Busch Series program as well as two, and perhaps as many as 10, Nextel Cup races this year.

His scheduled Nextel Cup debut with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing in California in late June fell through, with the excuse that "double duty" that weekend would have been tough as the Busch Series was in Milwaukee -- although there were rumors of a sponsorship shortfall.

Anyway, that supposedly just meant that Ambrose's first Nextel Cup outing with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing was simply postponed until this weekend, but it was clear early this week that it wasn't happening.

Just on Tuesday, Wood Brothers/JTG Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter was saying, "We want to be totally prepared when we embark on Marcos' Cup career."

About that time the wheels were in motion for Ambrose's drive with Gordon, and by Wednesday it was announced.

Ambrose will take some of the sponsorship from his Busch car, and his crew, with him to the Nextel Cup paddock.

Whatever difficulties there have been in getting there, let's hope he makes a good fist of it.

A professor of epidemiology and public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Ian Roberts, says in the journal that global road safety policy has been hijacked by those with links to F1 and the car industry and represented on the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

"Putting these people in charge of road safety is asking the fox to look after the chickens," Prof Roberts says.

"F1 is about cars and speed -- road safety is not.

"Road safety needs F1 like smoking cessation needs the tobacco industry.

"The wholesale slaughter of pedestrians on the roads in poor countries is a public health disaster."

The FIA has a Commission for Global Road Safety with a charter to "examine the framework for and level of international co-operation on global road safety, environmental protection and sustainable mobility".

Prof Roberts says that, through the commission and the FIA, the car lobby has put itself in "pole position" to dictate road safety policy.

The commission is chaired by former UK Defence Secretary Lord Robertson, who is now deputy chairman of a Russian oil company, and members include retired seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, and General Motors and Bridgestone executives.

"They do not intend to fund road safety efforts themselves, but will dictate how other organisations spend their money," Prof Roberts says.

"Their favourite policy is road safety education.

"However, despite decades of evaluation research, safety education has never been shown to reduce road injury rates."

Dr Kamran Abbasi, editor of the 198-year-old journal, says: "It seems incredible that road safety can be dominated by the car lobby and F1.

"Any successful strategy will require the co-operation of the car industry, but there must be a better balance of interests on the Commission for Global Road Safety."

Not only is there talk that Fernando Alonso, world champion the past two years with Renault, wants out but that McLaren is prepared to let him go.

Certainly McLaren has uncovered a superstar in 22-year-old Lewis Hamilton, but what has it got to gain by allowing Alonso to depart so soon and compete against it?

Australia's F1 driver, Mark Webber, has been heard to say in recent days: "I can't imagine that Alonso and Hamilton will still be together next year."

Remember that Prodrive won the franchise to start a 12th F1 team and to compete in the world championship from next year.

It has long been thought that it will strike a deal to operate as, effectively, a second McLaren-Mercedes team.

Richards was due to make an announcement at the British GP, but that did not eventuate -- and there is still no word.

Nor has anything been heard on sponsorship or key appointments.

Drivers thought to be linked to the project are Austrian Alex Wurz, now with Williams-Toyota, and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, who has assumed Wurz's former role as McLaren's main test driver.

Motorline.cc quotes de la Rosa saying: "We have to wait ... at present nothing at all is fixed. It is not clear at the moment if there will be a team at all."

And it quotes Wurz saying: "I am a bit sceptical because it is already very late in the season and we have not heard much from them."

Hulkenberg last weekend won the prestigious Formula 3 Masters -- held this year at Zolder in Belgium rather than its traditional venue, Zandvoort in Holland.

New Zealand 17-year-old Brendon Hartley was fourth in his F3 debut.

Foremost among its achievements are 14 Indianapolis 500 victories.

It is competing this weekend in NASCAR at Watkins Glen and the Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series rounds at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin -- with Aussie Ryan Briscoe in one of its Porsche RS Spyker prototypes in the ALMS.

Wonder whether iconic team owner Roger "The Captain" Penske will continue if -- or when -- he gets to 300 major wins?

Toyota's Simon Evans will be aiming to continue his domination with a fourth win of the season, while SA privateer Steve Glenney returns after winning the rally last year for a one-off start in the Subaru in which Cody Crocker won last year's Asia-Pacific title.

Will Orders has withdrawn from the championship -- another blow to a sadly struggling series.

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