Marcos Ambrose

Marcos Ambrose has successfully completed the first NASCAR Busch Series open test for 2007 with the 12th fastest time at Daytona International Speedway in Florida today.

Ambrose drove the #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion to a total of 66 laps on the third and final day of testing for the team at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, taking him to a total of 209 laps completed across the three days.

Ambrose was the 14th fastest driver in the morning season and then 12th in the afternoon session on a day where all NASCAR Busch Series teams were present. The two previous days saw half the teams present, including the #59 Kingsford Charcoal squad, with Sunday being attended by all teams before the second half of the Busch Series field runs for the next two days.

Of the 11 drivers faster than Ambrose in the afternoon session, seven are full-time NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers, making Ambrose the fifth fastest non-Cup driver.

The Australian ace was pleased with the information and experience he gathered from the three days of testing. This was Ambrose's first time driving the Daytona superspeedway, which will play host to the opening race of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series on February 17.

Ambrose and the #59 Kingsford Charcoal team’s next on-track assignment is the second NASCAR Busch Series open test for the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on February 5-6.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion:
“I’m happy with what we have been able to achieve over the past three days here at Daytona,” said Ambrose.

“The timesheets were not our priority. The important thing at this test has been for the team to work together and try some new things on the car. We’ve done that and made progress with every session.

“I’m really pleased with how it’s all gone. The team gelled right from the first session and we worked through a lot of things over the three days in terms of car set-up and getting our car to work better on superspeedways.

“I felt good in the car out there and it’s always something to run around these superspeedways. There are a couple of things that we have tried here that we can think about between now and the first race here at Daytona.”

MARCOS AMBROSE FAST FACTS