Marcos Ambrose is in a vastly different situation ahead of tomorrow’s Gateway 250 than his first start at the venue last season.

The Australian made only his second start in NASCAR competition and on an oval of any kind at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois last year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Ambrose was knocked out by another truck when a rival had a tyre failure, but by his own admission the race was just the start of a long road of learning in the big, tough world of NASCAR.

This weekend Ambrose sits in the top 10 in the NASCAR Busch Series and second in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings.

Ambrose was 22nd and 26th in the two major practice sessions at the tricky Gateway venue today, making a solid start to proceedings before qualifying and the race tomorrow.

Marcos Ambrose – #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion

“I’m certainly in a different position to my last visit to Gateway,” said Ambrose.

“Last time here I didn’t really know what was going on. We got knocked out but really we were just learning. This time around things are serious.

“Gateway is a difficult track but if you can get your car working well you can really move through the field towards the front.

“We made some progress today towards a good race set-up and I’m confident that we’ve got a car that car run well tomorrow.

“It should be a big race tomorrow. With the Cup teams having the week off I’m sure there will be a lot of guys keen to do well, so look for some tough racing here tomorrow night.”

RESULTS: Practice 1
1. #38 Jason Leffler 33.531
2. #29 Scott Wimmer 33.673
3. #03 Todd Bodine 33.686
4. #24 Landon Cassill 33.688
5. #90 Stephen Leicht 33.706
6. #22 Mike Bliss 33.748
7. #99 David Reutimann 33.770
8. #60 Carl Edwards 33.891
9. #41 Reed Sorenson 33.964
10. #10 Dave Blaney 33.971
22. #59 Marcos Ambrose 34.242