One thing Marcos Ambrose said when he entered the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series that resonates is his promise to appreciate every single day and never lose sight of how lucky he is to be a driver.

Because of his appreciation for the American sport, Marcos Ambrose was humbled to learn that he will receive a Sportsmanship of the Year award in his second year of full-time competition during the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame (TMHoF) dinner and induction ceremony Friday night in the Grand Ballroom of the Speedway Club at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I am honored to receive the Sportsmanship award and would like to thank the Motorsports Hall of Fame panel, Eddie Gossage and everyone at Texas Motor Speedway,” said Ambrose, who will be among other TMHoF award winners, such as, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, John Sturbin, Robert Yates and inductee Joe Gibbs. “I have such a great appreciation for our sport. When I came into NASCAR I promised myself I was going to appreciate every single day and not get mad or angry. I remind myself every day that I’m doing something that millions of kids out there – girls and guys – would love to do when they grow up. I am lucky enough to be a driver. Sure, you may get disappointed at times and there are compromises. However, you can never lose sight that there are not many downs when you are a racecar driver. I love what I do. So, to be recognized like this for the first time - especially when I’m a goofy Tasmanian coming from 14,000 miles away - is pretty awesome.”

This weekend the JTG Daugherty Racing driver is just as proud to have Tom Thumb and Viva Towels’ on his No. 47 Toyota Camry for the first time this season.

“Vivid, vibrant and versatile is Viva – try saying that three times,” Ambrose said. “It’s great to have Viva Towels on board for the first time. They come in handy with me having two little ones to clean up spills. Also, we have Tom Thumb on the car for the first time, which is great. I’m signing autographs Thursday night at a Tom Thumb location on Trophy Lake not far from Texas Motor Speedway from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central. I hope to see a lot of fans out there.” 

On Friday afternoon, fans can also come out and watch the No. 47 Tom Thumb/Viva Toyota driver judge a ‘Better Together Cook-Off’ that will take place at the trackside store on Texas Motor Speedway’s property at 2 p.m. Central.  Eleven contestants entered for a chance to take home over $1,200 in prizes, including $1,000 in gift cards.

“This is a neat deal we’re doing at the store on track property that involves some of my major sponsors,” Ambrose said. “The contestants have many requirements to meet. They must include a side of Bush’s Baked Beans and also use KC Masterpiece, Kingsford Charcoal or Kingsford Match Light. Oh, and they have to include Little Debbie in their dessert. The meals will be graded on both taste and presentation. I’m really looking forward to judging the final event.”

Another event that Ambrose is looking forward to is the NASCAR Sprint Showdown 40-lap preliminary race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 22, which advances the top-two finishers into the All-Star event for a shot at a $1 million payout. Ambrose learned recently that he is one of the top 10 drivers leading the Sprint Fan Vote that advances the final competitor not already qualified.  

“I’ve got everyone in Australia trying to get me into the race,” Ambrose said. “We have a marketing campaign over there encouraging friends, family and fans to vote as many times as they can. Unfortunately, there are only 20 million Australians and 300 million Americans. Therefore, I really need my fans and friends here in the U.S. to vote for me.

“To be voted in would be incredible,” Ambrose continued. “I’ll tell you what is really neat for me though is that I’m starting to see more fans wearing my T-shirts in the crowd. I’m pretty tickled by that. If I’ve got a fan out there, I want to see them because they are hard to come by.”

Ambrose aims to gain more fans at Texas Motor Speedway while he attempts to capture his first top-10 finish of the year with the new spoiler. 

"Texas is a really critical event for a lot of teams," said Ambrose. "The teams that are able to get their heads around the spoiler will excel, and we're excited about it. We're in a stretch of 14 races straight, and this is a really good chance for us to get off to a good start."

The last time out at the 1.5-mile quad-oval Ambrose was running second when he ran out of fuel on the second-to-last lap. He had to settle for a 15th-place finish after running in the top 10 the majority of the race.

“We gambled and gave it a shot, but we came up just a little short,” said Ambrose. “I really wanted to win that race. We were close on fuel, but when you are so close like that you have to give it a go. We probably only needed a half a gallon to make it. That was the difference between second and 15th.”

Live coverage of the event on Sunday, April 18th will air on FOX and PRN Radio at 3 p.m. ET.

ABOUT TOM THUMB

Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy currently operates 62 stores throughout north Texas under the Tom Thumb banner, and 36 stores in Houston, 14 stores in Austin under the Randalls banner. Tom Thumb is a division of Safeway Inc., a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,739 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $44.1 billion in 2008. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.