According to jayski, this afternoon will see an announcement that, for the first time since before the millennium ticked over, Marcos will not be racing for the blue oval as JTG Daugherty Racing will share technology with Mikey's team and, while Brad says otherwise, more or less be a fourth MWR car. He'll still be using the #47 and still have the Little Debbie sponsorship, it just will be with a Toyota badge rather than a Ford one.
Under the agreement, JTG Daugherty will get the same chassis, engines and techno-info-sharing that Mikey receives from TRD. Daugherty reckons this deal will put them about two years ahead of schedule since they would have been relying on, most likely, the NW series notes that Marcos has picked up the past couple of seasons (which would be very rough since the cars are not even remotely similar).
Homestead will be the final time Ambrose drives a Ford Fusion...for now anyway.
Based on the recent performances by both Waltrip and Reutimann, this may prove to be a good move for Marcos who, as he proved at both Watkins Glen and Dover (until damage, he was running in the top 15), can run with the big boys and will surely be a huge help to MWR with their road course program. I must say that I feel better about this than Marcos running by himself...and no disrespect to the Wood Brothers who have helped Ambrose enormously since 2006 when he entered the Truck series, he might wind up being a little more competitive than I previously thought.
Considering Marcos is starting to blossom even with less than stellar equipment, this might be the edge that he needs to start getting some good finishes. It is certainly a good move for him.
some people have now questioned his loyalty to Ford....but I think when it comes to the top flight, you have to take your opportunity when it comes and this could be a good one :)
Hey Tez - those who question it need to reflect on the fact that Marcos had already signed with JTG Daugherty months ago to race in Cup next year. He wasn't inept in his ability to grab onto that opportunity. Now, the Ford deal, well that was Daugherty's decision - business decision - and not Marcos. I really like Marcos and I hope he has a very long career in NASCAR. Besides, his commercials are great, a true natural in front of the camera :)
Good decision by Kangaroo Meat to team up with MWR. (That's Harvick's pet nickname for Marcos) He'll do well there, get a few top 10's, and generally be more competitive quicker than he would be with Wood Brothers.
Tez is a rare creature; an Australian who was living in New Zealand before moving to Canada. He's also a Civil Engineer who is hoping to spend his Monday to Friday sitting in front of a computer surfing the inter...uh, working hard for an Engineering Consultant or Contractor when he finds a job. His heart is torn between his two loves; F1 and NASCAR.
Due to his high interest in those, his blogs will likely focus on them with the occasional foray into sports that don't get much (if any) mention on this website. All blogs and/or comments will more than likely have his usual dollop of sarcasm and general Aussie spin on them.
Amazingly, he also managed to score 2 MiB nominations on consecutive days (August 5 & 6, 2007) after announcing he had been keeping track of them...he's considering hiding under his bed as a result.
