Indy drivers busy testing race, qualifying setups

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was busy on Friday with most of the drivers already qualified for the Indy 500 on the track working on their race setups and 13 others trying to find the speed to qualify in time trials this weekend.

"At this point in the month, it's not so much about the speed on one lap," said 2007 Indy winner Dario Franchitti, one of 22 drivers who qualified last weekend. "It's about balance and how the car handles in traffic and how it runs through a full tank of fuel.

"We're getting there," added Franchitti, who will start the May 24 race from the outside of the front row. "We're making some progress. Any track time we can get is beneficial. ... We're trying to get everything we can get now and keep working on the car."

Others felt a much greater sense of urgency.

Indy rookie Stanton Barrett, hoping to fill one of the remaining 11 positions in the 33-car field, was focused getting comfortable enough on the 2.5-mile oval to do a solid, four-lap qualifying run when time trials reopen Saturday.

"We just keep working on it," said Barrett, a NASCAR journeyman who also works part time as a stuntman in movies and TV. "Work on setup and get stability and grip and speed, that's all we've been working on in different combinations.

"... The idea is to try to stay patient and not try and do anything too quick or fast."

Barrett ran 35 laps Friday with a top speed of 218.499 mph.

The big question for the drivers still hoping to make the race by being one of the fast 11 on Saturday, or by bumping out the slowest qualifiers in Sunday's final round of time trials, is how much speed will they need?

Townsend Bell, who didn't get into his KV Racing Technology car until Thursday, was fastest among the non-qualified drivers Friday at 222.139 mph. But he expects it will take more than that to make the race.

"I really believe we can do some solid 223s in qualifying but, certainly, it depends on the weather and the track conditions tomorrow," said Bell, who hopes to join teammates and first-week qualifiers Mario Moraes and Paul Tracy in the lineup. "The speed should be there."

The slowest of the first-week qualifiers was Davey Hamilton at 221.956.

The veteran of eight Indy starts said he feels "fairly comfortable" with that speed, but adds, "I kind of wish we'd have been able to go out again and put up a little higher number."

Working on race setup Friday, Hamilton put in 50 laps with a top speed of 219.699.

Tomas Scheckter, getting his ride with Dale Coyne Racing on Friday morning, said he wasn't too concerned about the speed it will take to make the field, just with getting used to his car as quickly as possible.

Scheckter was reunited with engineer Bill Pappas, with whom he worked while driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2003, the year he finished fourth, his best showing in seven Indy starts.

"I had a great run at Indy with Bill, and I like what Dale has done with the team and (what teammate) Justin (Wilson) has done in the car," Scheckter said. "I'm confident Bill can give me a good car, and what's also good is that we don't have to build a relationship. We understand each other.

"Hopefully, we can get up to speed quickly and start moving the program forward."

He did just that, turning a fast lap of 220.516 in 37 laps.

Others working on their qualifying setup Friday included 1996 race winner Buddy Lazier, Oriol Servia, John Andretti, E.J. Viso, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Milka Duno and Indy rookies Robert Doornbos, Alex Tagliani, Mike Conway and Nelson Philippe.

Some of them had a much bigger hill to climb than others.

Philippe was the slowest of the 31 drivers on the 2.5-mile oval Friday, but his fast lap of 217.956 was considerably better than the 205.718 he topped out with Thursday.

"I was just really uncomfortable with the car," the Frenchman said Thursday after driving a car rebuilt after he crashed it in practice on Saturday. "I've never been so scared in my life. I think when the guys put the car back together, I think something is wrong."

He was feeling a lot better about the car and the track on Friday.

"This is something we can work with," Philippe said. "It's just going to take a little more speed."

The practice was cut short by 17 minutes because several of the bricks that form the finish line on the track came loose. Track officials said they expected the problem to be repaired in plenty of time for Saturday's action.

Scott Dixon, the 2008 race winner, was fastest on Friday at 222.799, followed by Moraes at 222.530, Bell, pole-winner and two-time champion Helio Castroneves at 221.699, his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Briscoe at 221.567 and Franchitti at 221.192.

Servia, in only his second day in the Rahal Letterman Racing entry, was next at 221.140, with Doornbos and Tagliani both at 220.804.

Pressure mounts as slumping Junior comes home

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fans fill the infield. He's mobbed wherever he goes at his home track. Lines wind around the corner to get into his nearby nightclub.

The brand remains strong. It's just on the track where NASCAR's most popular driver is still finding success elusive.

Welcome home, Junior. Now why aren't you winning?

"I would not trade places with him," teammate Mark Martin said Friday. "Absolutely not."

Junior acknowledged the gripping pressure after consecutive 27th-place finishes left him 18th in the Sprint Cup standings, far from where his fans expected when he moved to powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports last year.

"He's probably right. I don't think I'd want to put anybody in my shoes -- maybe an enemy or two," Earnhardt said of Martin's sympathy. "There are good days and bad days. You've got a lot to complain about and you've got a lot of things to be grateful for."

Save for a second-place finish at Talladega, little has gone right for the No. 88 team in a season marred by pit road trouble, communication woes and a post-race skirmish with Casey Mears at Phoenix.

Earnhardt has three top-10 finishes -- and six of 20th or worse.

After just one victory a year ago and quickly fading from contention once he made the Chase for the championship in his Hendrick debut, there have been calls to replace his crew chief and cousin, Tony Eury Jr. Owner Rick Hendrick has defended the team, but acknowledged they've had numerous meetings on how to end Junior's funk.

"I haven't changed my position. There's so much pressure on all of them guys, we've just got to take a deep breath," Hendrick said. "He's under the spotlight. We're not happy about it and we're working on it. I've just never been the kind of person who rips stuff up and says lets just try new things."

The trouble is finding and fixing what's wrong, while Earnhardt tries to fight off negativity that he said "can make you into a real jerk." Junior was searching for that balance as prepares for Saturday's All-Star race and next weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, just miles from his hometown.

"When you're running bad, you're just a target," Earnhardt said. "And you're angry because you're running bad, and frustrated. You can't win for losing. If you get angry you're a (jerk). If you take it on the chin you don't care.

"Everybody's got an opinion of you. You just move on."

From the grim looks of his crew as they shuffled in and out his hauler after All-Star practice Friday afternoon, the team is need of some good fortune.

"Where they're at right now is they just need to not let the pressure get them so tight that they can't perform at their best level," Martin said. "So my advice to Junior was, 'Hey this is All-Star weekend. Come here and take a deep breath and take a deep breath for your team and go out here and have some fun and let this thing come to you.'

"It's going to come around. It's going to come around for those guys."

Success has come quickly for Martin, though. The 50-year-old has two wins in his first season with Hendrick, which has further highlighted Junior's troubles.

"I'm all right," Earnhardt said. "I appreciate Mark's concern and he's always been a great supporter of me. It feels good for him to recognize my position and how life is."

Stewart wins 1st race as owner in All-Star event

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Tony Stewart crossed the finish line for his first victory as a car owner and made some rapid-fire decisions.

No, he would not climb the Lowe's Motor Speedway fence in celebration.

No, he would not go to his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday to watch -- or participate -- in the final day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

The only thing Stewart had in mind was a long night of celebrating the first victory for Stewart-Haas Racing on Saturday night in the $1 million All-Star event.

"I don't even know if I'll be conscious tomorrow," he joked. "We're going to start an over/under to see what time I actually wake up, and then you guys might want to start a second pool to see what time I actually climb out of bed. So, no, I am not going to Indy.

"I don't know what day this day is actually going to end. I would like to go. And I am sure at some point tomorrow -- thank God for Tivo, lets put it that way -- I'll at least see what happened at some point."

Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a thrilling final 10-lap shootout to win for the first time in 11 All-Star event starts. It was the first victory since he left Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last year, after two championships and 10 successful seasons, to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing.

In just six months, Smoke has turned his new toy into a championship contender.

He came into the race second in the Sprint Cup Series standings -- surprising because most people predicted a rocky first year for a driver accustomed to winning. Instead, he's put both himself and teammate Ryan Newman (eighth in points) in position for berths in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

Both have been closing in on Victory Lane, and Stewart won the race to give the organization its first victory dating to its 2002 debut as Haas CNC Racing.

"To get those guys in Victory Lane and to get these guys on the team that haven't been to Victory Lane there for the first time -- that means more than the million dollars does to me," he said. "It's that gratifying to get this group of guys to Victory Lane."

The win was in front of co-owner Gene Haas, who was at the track for the first time since the completion of a 16-month federal prison term for tax fraud. With his team struggling to find sponsorship or success, he and then-general manager Joe Custer took a gamble in reaching out to Stewart with an offer to hand the team over and let the driver build it into a winner.

"I was so worried today, I wanted him to be proud when he got here and proud of what we've done and proud of what he's been such a huge part in putting together," Stewart said. "Everybody is giving us all the credit for this, and you've really got to give him credit for taking the gamble, taking the risk, and having us come be a part of this organization."

Stewart became the second driver/owner to win the All-Star race, joining Geoff Bodine, the 1994 winner.

Stewart's crew urged him to the climb the fence in celebration -- a tradition he started several years ago -- but the driver declined.

His crew climbed for him.

"I said, "No way, I am not doing this again, I am too old to be doing it,"' said Stewart, who turns 38 next week.

Kenseth was second, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.

The format was once again changed, this time to cut the 100-lap race into four segments that culminated with a 10-lap sprint to the finish. It was a nod to races past, which had a history of dramatic dash-for-the-cash finishes.

After a follow-the-leader parade for most of the first three segments, the action picked up at the drop of the flag of the final shootout. Kyle Busch used a three-wide pass to dart from fourth to first, aggressive driving that slowed the cars behind him. Denny Hamlin ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into a spin that he masterfully saved from a race-ending accident.

A caution period set up another restart, and this time Jeff Gordon raced to the front. Newman decided to enter the action with a three-wide move to the outside, and Gordon and Kyle Busch touched at least once before all three cars collided.

It sent Gordon into a spin through the grass then back up across the track, where he crashed into the outside wall to end his race.

"It's the All-Star event. That's just a bunch of guys racing really, really hard," Gordon said. "I heard three-wide right at the last second."

Kenseth eventually moved to the front, but he and Busch knew Stewart was coming quickly. Stewart was third on the final restart with five laps to go, and made several charges for the lead before finally getting past Kenseth with two laps remaining.

The late-race action moved the attention back to the track after a week spent discussing Jeremy Mayfield's indefinite suspension for failing a random drug test.

Despite his ban from the track, Mayfield was on track property early Saturday night, complete with camera crew in tow, as he watched J.J. Yeley drive the Mayfield Motorsports entry to a 22nd-place finish in the preliminary race.

Mayfield spoke with reporters who found him in the infield, insisting his positive test was not because of illegal drug use. Instead, he said it was the combination of a prescription drug, which he would not identify, and Claritin-D, which he said he used to combat allergies at Richmond that were "really, really bad."

New emergency texting available to race patrons

International Speedway Corporation has partnered with InStadiumSolutions to implement a text-message based communication system at all of its 12 motorsports facilities.

The service was introduced last weekend during the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

The system allows fans to communicate with the racetrack's command post if assistance is needed inside the facility. The technology was tested at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November during the final weekend of the NASCAR season.

Instructions will be posted throughout each racetrack and will be broadcast through audio and video public announcements.

Besides Darlington and Homestead-Miami, ISC owns and/or operates Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, Kansas Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Watkins Glen International.

The Fan Text Messaging Service is also being used by several professional and college teams, as well as at events such as the Super Bowl, BCS National Championship and World Baseball Classic.

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OVAL RACIN' AGAIN: NHRA's Funny Car points leader Ron Capps has accepted an invitation to race again in Tony Stewart's fifth annual Prelude to the Dream late model sports car race at Eldora Speedway.

Capps has finished ninth, fourth, 24th and 17th, respectively, in his first four tries in the charity event on the half-mile clay oval owned by the NASCAR star.

"This event ... is one of the few times in a race driver's life where you have to check your ego at the door when you walk into that place, because it is awe-inspiring," said Capps, who has won three of the first seven NHRA events of 2009. "When you're driving an 8,000 horsepower Funny Car, everything happens so fast you just react and you don't have time to enjoy it.

"Driving in the Prelude is the other way around. There's no spotters, you have the best drivers in the world all around you and you're sliding on dirt on a half-mile high-banked track. It just doesn't get any better than that."

Other drivers planning to run in the June 3 race in Rossburg, Ohio, include Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, along with the NHRA's Capps and Cruz Pedregon.

The race will be shown live on HBO Pay-Per-View, with proceeds going to four military-themed charities: Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House.

Source: Mayfield positive test not for steroids

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A day after learning Jeremy Mayfield failed a drug test for something other than a performance-enhancer, NASCAR allowed him to drive a race car at Darlington Raceway at speeds up to 173 mph.

A person familiar with the test results told The Associated Press on Thursday that Mayfield's positive test was not for a performance-enhancing drug. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR won't reveal what banned substance was found in the random test, which ultimately resulted in Mayfield's indefinite suspension.

NASCAR officials previously announced the drug violation was not alcohol-related, and the administrator of its drug testing program has dismissed Mayfield's explanation that the positive result came from a mix of a prescription with an over-the-counter medicine.

Under the sport's toughened policy, that leaves the possibility that Mayfield tested positive for abuse of a prescription drug, narcotics or controlled substances, such as cocaine, marijuana or methamphetamine.

Because Mayfield challenged the initial positive finding, as allowed under NASCAR's drug policy, the series did not take disciplinary action until his backup "B" sample also tested positive. That's why Mayfield wasn't barred from participating in two practice sessions and qualifying session May 8 at Darlington.

"There are limitations as to how quickly the process can be brought to conclusion," said Dr. David Black, the administrator for NASCAR's drug-testing program. "The practical reality is there is going to be a delay. In an ideal world, if the world were perfect and there was a possibility of an instant answer, we'd be able to take immediate action."

Mayfield was first told on May 5 that he had failed a random drug test and was asked to explain why he might have tested positive, according to an outline of NASCAR's procedures provided by Black, CEO of Aegis Sciences Corp. in Nashville, Tenn., which runs the testing program.

After Aegis investigated Mayfield's explanation and rejected it, Black's office told NASCAR officials on May 7 about the positive test.

On May 8, Mayfield showed up at Darlington, ready to get on the track, and asked for his backup "B" sample to be tested. NASCAR put a rush on the lab order to learn the results before the Southern 500 on May 9.

While they waited, Mayfield took part in two practice sessions with other cars on the track alongside him.

Black would not speculate if allowing Mayfield on the track put Mayfield or the other drivers in danger.

"We didn't collect a sample that day on the individual, so I can't predict without the test result, to know if the person had consumed the drug of concern," Black said.

Mayfield ran 16 laps in the first session, 23 laps in the second with a fast lap of 173.577 mph. Mayfield later ran two qualifying laps alone on the track but failed to qualify for Saturday night's race.

"Certainly we were in contact with Jeremy that day, and there was no physical reason to believe he couldn't perform," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. "Dr. Black's team had a rush order to get us the results. They literally worked through the night so we would know the "B" sample before Saturday night's race."

NASCAR finds itself in a unique position in its first season under the toughened drug policy. While other major sports leagues must focus on the effects of performance-enhancing drugs on their traditions and records, the abuse of recreational drugs and the altered states they create can present an imminent danger in NASCAR, where 43 cars are on the track at once, racing at high speeds in 3,400-pound cars.

"It's unique in the much greater potential of life-and-death," said Dr. Gary Wadler, who leads the committee that determines the banned substances list for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Using banned substances can be dangerous to competitors in other sports -- what if in football, the entire offensive line is on steroids and none of the defensive linemen are?

But in auto racing, Wadler said, "it's a different order of magnitude." So he believes NASCAR would be justified to make its rules even stricter than those in other sports.

"Therefore you have to go the extra mile to fully protect the innocent," he said.

Black said NASCAR's policy leaves a window for an individual to protest the initial failure of a sample and takes into account the possibility of a false positive. Because Mayfield offered an explanation for his positive result, it had to be investigated and dismissed before his "B" sample was tested.

That created the gap that allowed Mayfield to participate in Friday's on-track activity at Darlington.

Mayfield, who turns 40 at the end of this month, can apply for reinstatement only after completing a program designed by Black. His suspension covers both his role as driver and owner of Mayfield Motorsports. The No. 41 Toyota will run this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway with Mayfield's wife, Shana, listed as the car owner and J.J. Yeley as the driver.

This season, NASCAR, which previously only tested when there were reasonable suspicions, ordered preseason testing for all drivers and crew members and added random testing throughout the season. NASCAR provided teams last December with a detailed list of banned substances it would test crew members for this season.

No such banned list exists specifically for drivers because NASCAR reserved the right to test for anything it wants above and beyond the baseline crew member list. To Wadler, that undermines the legitimacy of the program.

NASCAR won't disclose what Mayfield tested positive for.

"The reason we don't reveal the substance is because our policy says the misuse or abuse of any substance is a violation," Poston said. "The substance is irrelevant. What's important is that a drug, under a positive test, a drug has been misused or abused."

NASCAR does have the right to reveal the drug because compliance with its testing program does not fall under the guidelines of the federal HIPAA laws, Black said.

"We could make it public," he said. "But the issue up to this point has been to respect the individual's privacy."

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Associated Press Sports Writer Rachel Cohen in New York contributed to this report.

John Andretti back at Indy 500 as darkhorse

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- John Andretti loves the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn't always love him back.

Andretti took a double hit here on Sunday, crashing while trying to find more speed on the famed Brickyard track and then getting bumped from the tentative Indy 500 lineup by a faster car.

So instead of spending the four days on the track this week working on the race setup in his Richard Petty Motorsports entry, the 46-year-old will be forced to requalify on Saturday, when the final 11 spots in the 33-car field are filled, or on Sunday, when the slowest qualifiers can be bumped out of the lineup for the May 24 race.

"I feel fine," Andretti said after the crash. "The car took a beating, and that's frustrating. But the team will work on it and we'll be back next week."

It's just the latest setback for a member of his family -- another chapter of the so-called "Andretti Curse" at Indianapolis.

Since Mario Andretti, John's uncle, won the 500 in 1969, at least one family member has raced here in all but two years (2004 and 2005) without another victory. Broken parts and broken hearts have mostly been their lot at Indy.

Mario raced here 24 more times, dominating at times, but never again reaching the checkered flag first.

His oldest son, Michael, raced at Indy 16 times. He also dominated races and still holds the record for leading the most laps (431) without winning.

Michael's younger brother, Jeff, crashed out of two of his three Indy starts.

Marco Andretti, Michael's son and Mario's grandson, seems to have the best shot at ending the family jinx. He has finished second and third in three tries, losing the lead to Sam Hornish Jr. on the last lap of the 2005 race. He will start in the middle of the third row next week.

That leaves John, who has had his own misfortunes here but plans to be racing in the 500 for the 10th time.

"This is the only race in the world that counts," he said last week, before his latest Indy crash. "You've got to understand my family history. ... When I was a kid, I was here. When I was grown up, I was here.

"This place has been good to our family, a little bit, and rough on it in a lot of ways. But that's the passion of this place."

John, who has won in the now-defunct CART series, NASCAR and sports cars, as well as competing in Top Fuel drag racing, has a best finish at Indianapolis of fifth in 1991. Worse for a driver who loves this place so much, he didn't race here from 1994 through 2007, mostly because of contractual obligations to teams in other series.

"When I came back two years ago, I'm like, I don't ever want to miss it again," Andretti said. "If there's still life in me, I want to be at Indianapolis in the month of May."

Being back this year wasn't a given until he convinced former employer, longtime friend and stock car legend Richard Pretty to co-own an Indy 500 entry with him.

"I came here with John last year and it was exciting," said Petty, who owns a team in NASCAR's Sprint Cup. "I know how much this whole thing means to John and his family and I'm just glad I can be a part of it with him. And I know he's still a good race car driver."

Andretti and Petty made a deal with the Dreyer & Reinbold IndyCar team to field their car and Andretti was able to take a sabbatical from NASCAR, where he is racing this season for Front Row Motorsports' Bob Jenkins.

"Tony Raines will be in the car until I get back," said Andretti, who will return to the Sprint Cup team for the Dover race on May 31. "Tony runs Bob's Nationwide (Series) car and he understands the goals and objectives, and he has a good head on his shoulders. He isn't out there trying to prove a point.

"That team keeps getting better, week in and week out. We know where our weak points are and we're trying to correct them."

The Cup team is currently 35th in car owner points, the last spot that guarantees a starting position at each race. Andretti expects the team to stay competitive despite being one of the smallest operations in NASCAR's top series.

"All these other little teams are getting all this credit and we're by far the smallest full-time team," Andretti said. "When I say the smallest, I mean the least amount of outside help. These other guys may have the same number of employees, but they're having (Richard) Childress do all their chassis work, they're leasing engines from one of the powerhouse teams. ... We have about 15 employees and we're doing body and everything."

But, for now, Andretti's focus is on Indianapolis.

"When I drive in through the tunnel each day, I feel lucky that I get the opportunity to be here," he said. "Where I am now, the best we can be is a dark horse going into the race. But we can be that, and that's my goal. If we do all the right things and have a great day, we can be that guy."

Ambrose seeking gold in NASCAR and elsewhere

AP Graphic CAR SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Marcos Ambrose is looking to strike gold in America -- and not only in NASCAR.

The 32-year-old Australian has been steadily rising in his first full Sprint Cup season. Five top-15 finishes in his past seven races have him 20th in the points standings, giving him a shot at making a run at the top 12 and a spot in the Chase for the championship.

When he's not searching for improvements on the track, the affable driver is prospecting for gold across the United States.

"I can take you out tomorrow to a place where we can find a quarter ounce (of gold) in about two hours," Ambrose said. "We don't want a quarter ounce. We want 200 ounces."

Ambrose was mildly fascinated with prospecting in Australia, but his gold fever took off once he came to the U.S. in 2006 to run full time in NASCAR -- first trucks, then the Nationwide Series and now Sprint Cup.

"It's a bit kooky, I know. It's a little off the wall," Ambrose said. "When you think about it, and as long as you're not too ego driven about getting dirty, it's just a great hobby."

Ambrose enjoys the rugged, outback areas where gold dust can be found, as well as the research and planning necessary for his expeditions. He's used a similar strategy in his racing career to arrive in NASCAR's biggest series.

He was a go-kart champion growing up back home, eventually advancing to open-wheel series in Australia and Europe. After two V8 Supercar titles in his homeland, Ambrose knew his next move had to be to the United States to try his hand at stock cars.

"'Let's treat it like a holiday,' he told his wife, Sonja. 'We'll probably be home in six months time. If not, we'll just keep going until they kick us out.' Three years later, we're still here."

Ambrose had minimal experience on ovals, yet learned quickly as a truck racer. He won a pole that year in Kentucky and had two top-five finishes.

In 2007, Ambrose learned on the Nationwide Series how intense the sport can be. He was leading near the end of a race at Montreal when he was intentionally wrecked by Robby Gordon.

Gordon made it up to Ambrose by giving him a Sprint Cup ride at Watkins Glen a week later, although Ambrose didn't make the field when rain washed out qualifying.

Ambrose finally got his victory the next year, winning the Nationwide road race at Watkins Glen.

Already popular back home, Ambrose gained even more acclaim for taking the checkered flag.

"It was pretty big, but it's the second-tier series. It was great, but it's not feeding the kids, you know," Ambrose joked. "Probably finishing every week what I'm doing now in the Cup series is getting more attention."

Ambrose has gained notice here as well. He's had seven top-20 finishes in 11 races (he was 33rd at difficult Darlington on Saturday night) and is less than 150 points out of 12th place, the final Chase spot in the drivers standings.

Has Ambrose changed his goals after his impressive start?

"I'm trying in my head to down play it because it's not a realistic goal. If it happens, it's a minor miracle," he said. "We need to do exactly what we've been doing. We need to look good and we need to convert looking good into results on a consistent basis."

Michael Waltrip, whose race team is allied with the JTG-Daugerty Racing outfit that employs Ambrose, thinks the Australian can make a lasting name for himself in NASCAR.

"Very rarely do people come from other disciplines of motorsports, other countries, and get in these cars and be able to do it," Waltrip said. "Marcos has done it and he's competitive."

Ambrose would love to spend the rest of his racing career NASCAR, but he sees a window closing down the road. He and Sonja have two daughters, 3-year-old Tabitha and 1-year-old Adelaide. The separation from home and family is difficult and Ambrose wants his children to experience Australia.

"This racing game's pretty selfish," he said. "I want them to have a balance in their life."

Sort of the one Ambrose has between his loves of racing and prospecting. He hopes to soon upgrade his search equipment, advancing from the pan and shovel he's been using.

He's visited Sutter's Mill, one of the California gold rush spots, when the series was at Infineon Raceway in North California.

Would Ambrose leave Sprint Cup if he struck it rich?

"It would have to be a pretty big nugget," he said.