Marcos Ambrose decides to leave Daugherty-Geschickter at the end of the season and move on; Indy TV ratings down

   Always-smiling Marcos Ambrose will running for a new NASCAR team in 2011...but which one? (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)
   


    By Mike Mulhern
    mikemulhern.net

   Yes, Marcos Ambrose, the popular but struggling Aussie/Tasmanian driver whose rookie year on the tour was wildly successful, is indeed leaving his current team at the end of the season.
   "After five years, I personally felt it was time for a change," Ambrose said. "I have no firm plans of what will come next for me. I would like to continue in NASCAR and finish off what I started. But I have not discounted returning to Australia.
    "I'm grateful for an opportunity to become a NASCAR driver..."
   Ambrose' highlight of this season, perhaps also the lowlight, was his finish at Sonoma a month ago. He was dominating the race down the stretch, but when a yellow came out late, he tried to conserve fuel by turning his engine on and off...and it died on him briefly. NASCAR ruled, somewhat controversially, against Ambrose and put him back in the pack for the final restart for not maintaining enough speed under the caution, and Jimmie Johnson went on to win.
   Ambrose also came close to winning Watkins Glen and Sonoma last season. And he was leading the Montreal Nationwide race in the final laps when he got knocked out of the way by Carl Edwards, who went on to win.
   Where Ambrose might end up is unclear, but Richard Petty Motorsports, the George Gillett-owned Ford operation, is one potential option.
   Ambrose' current team, owned jointly by Brad Daugherty and Tad Geschickter, released a brief statement Tuesday about the situation:
   "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 Truck series, to the Nationwide series, and into the Sprint Cup series," Geschickter said. "Marcos is a friend and he is a great talent. He will be an asset to his next team."
   Ambrose also released a short statement: "It has been a great five-year journey for me and JTG Daugherty Racing.
   "I am proud of being their driver and of what we have been able to accomplish together. I want to personally thank Tad, Jodi and Brad and the entire race team for everything they have done.
   "Our plan is to complete the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season with the same desire and commitment and end our relationship the same way it started, with a positive attitude."

    And on the TV front, more rough news for NASCAR: ESPN reports its telecast of the Brickyard 400 Sunday earned a final national household coverage rating of 4.2 -- down more than 12 percent from the 4.8 for last year's race.
   Still, that 4.2 rating means 5.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
   ESPN2's cross-town broadcast of the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski Nationwide series, on the other hand, was up 21 percent from last year – pulling a 1.7 final national household rating, translating to 2.4 million viewers. Last year's race drew a 1.4.
  

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 That Sonoma run, which should have been a win, his first Cup tour win, turned sour in the final miles for Marcos Ambrose (47), in a bitter disappointment (Photo: Getty Images for NASCAR)