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Ambrose heads to Daytona testing with new crew chief and team structure |
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
Australian NASCAR driver Marcos Ambrose has returned to the United States and is
eager to begin his 2008 testing program at the first official NASCAR Nationwide
Series test at Daytona International Speedway in Florida next week.
The
test will be a pivotal and exciting one for Ambrose, who will use the testing to
become acquainted with his new Crew Chief, Walter Giles, who joins JTG Racing
from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, where Giles was race engineer for the #1 car
of Martin Truex Jr in the top flight NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
 JTG Racing and Wood Brothers Racing implemented changes over the off-season,
restructuring the team previously known as Wood Brothers/JTG Racing and creating
two separate racing operations. Both teams continue to operate out of the same
facility in Harrisburg, North Carolina.
As announced last November,
Ambrose will campaign the Little Debbie Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers Racing in
12 NASCAR Sprint Cup (formerly Nextel Cup) events in 2008.
Ambrose will
drive an additional four races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (formerly Nextel
Cup) this season for JTG Racing, also with backing from McKee Foods and its
Little Debbie Snack Cakes brand, the Australian entered in a #47 Ford Fusion
with Giles serving as crew chief.
Giles has amassed an impressive list
of NASCAR accomplishments since moving to America 12 years ago. The list is
highlighted by his work last season with DEI driver Martin Truex Jr as he posted
his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win and earned a spot in the Chase for the Nextel
Cup Championship.
Giles is also an Australian, having lived in the
United States and worked in the NASCAR industry for the past 12 years. Giles
fronts a host of new recruits for JTG Racing, which has undergone a significant
restructure over the off-season.
Butch Lamoreux has joined JTG Racing as
Racing Operations Director, having been recruited last August to begin to
reshape the organisation in preparation for a big season in 2008. Lamoreux joins
the team from Hendrick Motorsports and before his stint at that
championship-winning outfit, Lamoreux worked with JTG Racing co-owners Jodi and
Tad Geschickter on their NASCAR Busch Series teams.
Industry-renowned
engineer Ken Douglas has also joined JTG Racing, working as the outfit’s new
Technical Director. The Australian was an instrumental part of MoTeC Data
Systems growth and development, driving the company's race data acquisition
products to industry prominence.
From there Douglas joined Stone
Brothers Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series where he was
the team’s Director of Engineering. Douglas guided the team to three-consecutive
V8 Supercar championship victories, the first two of these with Ambrose as the
driver in 2003 and 2004 and a further title with Russell Ingall in 2005.
Another former engineer from Stone Brothers Racing, Paul Forgie, joins
Douglas at JTG Racing. Forgie served as Ambrose’s crew chief at Stone Brothers
Racing in V8 Supercars and has also made the move to JTG Racing to work on
research and development projects.
Ambrose’s 2007 crew chief Greg Conner
will front JTG Racing’s research and development projects in 2008. In addition,
Conner will serve as crew chief for Ambrose’s #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series when JTG Racing embarks on an entry in the top
flight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Nationwide Series (formerly NASCAR
Busch Series) teams will converge on the 2.5-mile superspeedway from Friday,
with Ambrose and his JTG Racing team beginning the first of three days of
testing on Sunday January 20.
Ambrose finished eighth in last year's
NASCAR Busch Series, also claiming second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year
standings. His best finish came at Memphis where the driver from Launceston,
Tasmania finished fourth, capping a season with six top 10 and 19 top 20
finishes for the Australian.
JTG Racing will again field two cars in the
NASCAR Nationwide Series, with Kelly Bires returning to drive the #47 Clorox
Ford Fusion as Ambrose’s team-mate this season and Scott Zipadelli also
returning as his crew chief.
JTG Racing will also maintain an entry in
the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, with Scott Lagasse Jr piloting the #20 Ford
F-150 for JTG Racing in the ultra-competitive truck series in 2008.
WHAT THE TEAM HAD TO SAY …
MARCOS AMBROSE –
Driver, #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion
“I’m really excited
about the year ahead,” said Ambrose.
“We’ve retained a lot of the people
from our 2007 campaign and added to the mix with some new recruits. It all looks
very promising.
“We’ve got a new batch of cars lined up and things are
looking good. Our team is all pulling in the same direction and is pumped about
getting out there and getting back into it.
“Walter brings a lot of
experience to this team. He’s been around for a while now and he certainly came
across because of how much knowledge and experience he has – that he is
originally from Australia is just a coincidence.
“I expect real benefit
from having Walter on board and I’m looking forward to working with him starting
this weekend at Daytona.
“With Walter coming on board and steering the
ship and the likes of Butch, Ken and Paul strengthening us as a team, things are
definitely coming along nicely.
“Daytona testing is quite different.
It’s a big track and aero and horsepower mean a lot. It gives us a chance to get
back into the swing of things and see what we’ve got. I’m looking forward to it
and our team has a great spirit at the moment, so things are very good.”
TAD GESCHICKTER – Co-Owner, JTG Racing
“Jodi and I
are embarking on our 14th season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and we don't
think things have ever seemed faster paced,” said Geschickter.
“We also
don't think we've ever been more excited about the team we've assembled for the
upcoming season.”
WALTER GILES – Crew Chief, #59 Kingsford
Charcoal Ford Fusion
“I'm really excited to work with Marcos,”
said Giles.
“I've watched him for a long time, and have always been
impressed with his skills in a race car. I feel that Ambrose has what it takes
to be successful at any level of NASCAR.”
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