Following his decision to leave JTG Daugherty at the end of the season and despite speculation that he may return to his native Australia to rejoin the V8 Supercar series, Ambrose is to stay in NASCAR and further pursue his goal of winning at NASCAR's top level on American soil.
The Tasmanian has signed a multi-year deal to drive the #9 Ford Fusion with sponsorship from Stanley Black and Decker, following the departure of Budweiser as the main sponsor of the car in order to join the Richard Childress Racing's #29 Chevy of Kevin Harvick from 2011.
"I'm very excited to join Richard Petty Motorsports," said Ambrose. "It's an incredible honor to be able to race for a legend like The King and be a part of this organization. I'm also happy to be back with Ford Racing.
"The #9 team has been a very successful team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. With the support of Ford and everyone at RPM, I believe we can continue that tradition of success."
Ambrose is currently in his second full season in the Sprint Cup series but his results have proved below par relative to 2009, when he scored four top-five finishes and seven top-ten results, which placed him 18th in the final drivers' standing.
This year he targeted a place in the Chase but he currently ranks 26th in the points with just one top-five to his name, achieved two weeks ago at Watkins Glen, where he was beaten to victory by Juan Pablo Montoya following a race-long battle.
"We are very happy to have Marcos Ambrose join our team" said Richard Petty. "He's a very talented and passionate driver and will be a great addition to our team."
Ambrose came close to a maiden Cup win at Sonoma also, but stalled his car while trying to save fuel in the closing stages of the race being the leader.
However, he has won three times in the NASCAR Nationwide series with consecutive victories at Watkins Glen in the last three years.
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