“This year has been a real eye- opener for me,” Ambrose told an Australian newspaper of the 2008 season.

After running a full time schedule in NASCAR's secondary series and participating in a handful in the Cup Series, Ambrose is ready for some relaxation as he has gone home to Tasmania for the off-season.

“The races are long and the drivers are aggressive and the competition is even." Ambrose continued on his reflection. "There’s 43 cars in a race and 42 and a half of the drivers are on the pace. Sometimes I felt like I was the missing point five (0.5).”

“It’s been a long, tough year for me. I’ve done the equivalent of three V8 Supercar seasons in just 10 months. I’ve driven for four teams in two series this year and I’m tired and I need a rest.”

With three titles in Australia's V8 Supercar Series, Ambrose has certainly found more success there than in NASCAR. Despite his struggles he managed to finish in the top-10 in the Nationwide Series point standings, and secure a ride in the Cup Series for 2009 with JTG/Daugherty Racing.

“The opportunity to step up into the main game was too good to pass up, but there’s a fine line between just doing it and doing it right. At the moment I’m about two- tenths of a second a lap away from being able to fly my own jet to race meetings.” Ambrose continued, “But I’ve got a great team next year and fantastic equipment, so there’s no reason why we can’t be a top 20 contender.”

With all hopes that things go well, Ambrose unquestionably has a backup plan.

Ambrose concluded, “I’ll either be over there (in the US) for the next 10 years. Or I’ll be back here in a V8 Supercar in two years."