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Marcos Ambrose still may have a mathematical chance at the 2009 Sprint Cup Series championship but he's taking a much more realistic approach.

"It's all about getting ready for 2010 for me," said Ambrose, who won his second consecutive Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International last weekend for JTG Daughtery Racing.

"I know we're a couple hundred (points) out of 12th but realistically I want to be ready for 2010 and have a serious shot to make the Chase."

With four races remaining before the field is set for this year's Chase, including Sunday's Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Ambrose is 269 points behind 12th place Matt Kenseth.

That's not an impossible margin to make up, but it's not very likely, either.

So while Ambrose, a two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion, continues his impressive adjustment to NASCAR and its predominance on oval track racing, he does so with an eye ahead to the future.

"I feel as I grow into the Sprint Cup Series and with the help of Frank (Kerr, crew chief) and everybody here, I feel like we're more competitive than ever at every type of oval, whether it be a superspeedway, short track or intermediate," he said.

His results speak for themselves.

In his nine Cup races last season on oval tracks, Ambrose's best finish was 18th at Phoenix. So far this season in his No. 47 Toyota, he's finished 17th or better in nine of 20 oval track races, including a fourth-place finish at the spring race at Talladega, Ala.

"Marcos is one of the top road-course racers in the world and he's quickly becoming one of the top race car drivers in the country," said team co-owner Brad Daughtery.

After Ambrose won the V8 Supercar championships in 2003 and 2004 he began making inquiries in NASCAR. In 2006, he raced in the Camping World Trucks series, winning a pole and earning four top-10 finishes in 22 starts.

The native of Tasmania moved fulltime to Nationwide in 2007 and 2008, where he finished eighth and 10th, respectively, in the series standings, including earning his first NASCAR win last year at Watkins Glen.

Although his Victory Lane visits have so far come at road courses, Ambrose maintains he is just as comfortable on the ovals.

"We can contend any week. There is no single track I don't like any more," he said.

Team co-owner Jodi Geschickter agrees.

"We always look forward to Watkins Glen and we always look forward to the road courses but increasingly we've just been excited to go to the track with Marcos Ambrose every week," she said. "It's always an adventure."[[In-content Ad]]

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