Earnhardt Jr In Australia
NASCAR Superstar Visits Aussie V8 Supercars
Dale Earnhardt Jr's idea of a holiday from NASCAR racing involved visiting the title deciding final round of the Australian V8 Supercar series, and then driving one.
When considering a trip to Australia a bit of local knowledge is always welcome. If you are a NASCAR driver planning a holiday down under who better to have a chat with in the pits than Aussie driver Marcos Ambrose.
“I have to thank Marcos for everything he has set-up for me on this trip,” said Earnhardt Jr.
“This is my first trip to Australia and I absolutely love it. Everyone here has been so good to me and to all of my friends and we will never forget this trip.”
One of the first stops on Earnhardt Jr.’s holiday down under was to Philip Island. As well as being a favorite summer holiday destination the Island is home of one of the world’s great road courses. It is the venue of the Australian rounds of the MotoGP and World Superbike championships.
The fast flowing circuit hosted the final round of the local V8 supercar championship. With four drivers vying for the title at the start of the weekend, the on track action promised plenty of excitement. In perfect summer weather, the title went down to the last lap of the last race.
Earnhardt told local media he enjoyed the spectacle and would consider racing in the series after retiring from NASCAR.
Later in his holiday, EarnhardtJr. joined Ambrose at the V8 Super School in state of Queensland for some practical experience.
Ambrose is part owner of the school with local V8 driver Paul Morris. The school runs a fleet of replica V8 racecars that look like the real thing. They have the aero kits, roll cages, racing seats, and are painted in a variety of V8 supercar team colors. With the cars available for the fans to get a taste of on track action, the engines only have 450 horsepower, far less than the real racecars.
While Ambrose is a Ford driver, the school has cars from the General so that Earnhardt could stay with a Chevrolet. The locally built Holden Commodores are exported wearing the Chevrolet Lumina badge, a name made famous in NASCAR.
“I have really enjoyed the chance to drive these cars on a road course-style track. It’s great fun and Marcos and Paul Morris have been great to me and really looked after us. We are having a ball,” said Earnhardt Jr.
“It’s been great to experience Australia and see how racing is down here. Our group has all had a blast and Marcos’ advice on where to go and everything he has set up for us has been awesome.”
Under the eyes of Ambrose, a two time V8 Supercar Champion, Earnhardt Jr. got to grips with sitting on the other side of the car and changing gears with his left hand.
“He’s a real driver’s driver and he’s got awesome skills. You can see how quickly he has adapted to these cars today just how good he is and I look forward to the day where I can hopefully get to his level and run side-by-side with him because he’s a great driver and a great guy, “ said Ambrose.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
