Marcos Ambrose to leave JTG Daugherty at end of 2010
JTG Daugherty Racing and Marcos Ambrose will part ways at the end of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the team announced in a news release Tuesday.
Ambrose has driven for the team for five NASCAR seasons, including competing in the Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.
Ambrose, a two-time V8 Supercar champion, debuted with the organization in the Truck series at Martinsville Speedway in 2006. He moved to the Nationwide Series for two years beginning the following season and then moved up to the Cup series full time.
“It has been a great five-year journey for me and JTG Daugherty Racing,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of being their driver and of what we have been able to accomplish together. … Our plan is to complete the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with the same desire and commitment and end our relationship the same way it started, with a positive attitude and the willingness to win. I will do everything I can to help JTG Daugherty transition into next year with their new driver.
“After five years, I personally felt it was time for a change. I have no firm plans of what will come next for me and my career. I would like to continue in NASCAR and finish off what I started, but I have not discounted returning to Australia. I’m grateful to JTG Daugherty Racing for giving me an opportunity to become a NASCAR driver and I wish them the best in the future.”
During his tenure with the team, Ambrose has nine top-10 finishes, four of them top-fives, as well as a pair of Nationwide wins. His career-best Cup finish is second at Watkins Glen International in 2009. He is currently 27th in the Cup drivers standings.
Sources have told FOX Sports that Ambrose is under consideration to join Richard Petty Motorsports.
JTG Daugherty Racing officials said in the release that the team will make an announcement in the near future regarding its driver for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
“JTG Daugherty Racing and our sponsors are obviously huge Marcos Ambrose fans and we are disappointed to see him leave after five great years of building a program together from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, to the Nationwide Series, and into the Sprint Cup Series,” said Tad Geschickter, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing along with Brad Daugherty and Jodi Geschickter. “Marcos is a friend and he is a great talent. He will be an asset to his next team.
“While we hate to see him move on at the end of the season, we will remain focused on winning races with Marcos,” Geschickter continued. "We are excited about our company's development. We have NASCAR’s greatest and most loyal sponsors, a growing fan base, and a steadily improving race team.”
