As we watched Marcos Ambrose blow a second tire and hit the wall on Sunday at Dover, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy.  After a very strong rookie campaign in 2009 that saw him finish 19th in the points standings on the strength of four top five and seven top ten finishes, 2010 has been difficult at best.  Ambrose and his #47 JTG Daugherty team only had two DNFs all last season, and they already have four through twelve races.  A difficult first third of his sophomore season isn’t exactly what the Australian had in mind.

Much of the trouble for Ambrose this season has been just plain bad luck.  At Daytona, he blew an engine 21 laps before halfway.  He then had to retire a week later at California after only 170 of 250 laps because of an overheating problem.  Wrong place, wrong time wrecks at Bristol and Talladega continued the stretch of bad luck.  And handling and engine issues at Darlington, followed by two blown tires at Dover on Sunday only added to the struggles.

It hasn’t been all bad though.  Besides their good runs in 2009, four top eleven finishes this season at Atlanta, Martinsville, Phoenix, and Richmond have shown this team can compete.  Ambrose certainly has the talent and with support from Michael Waltrip Racing, JTG Daugherty has the necessary equipment and resources.  Now the Frank Kerr led team just needs to find a little luck.

Their may be relief on the horizon though.  The upcoming schedule has stops that favor Ambrose.  Races at Pocono and Sonoma, where he ran well last season should help, and the small successes he’s had this season should bode well for Charlotte and Loudon.  A little luck at Michigan and Daytona would also go a long way in helping this team dig out of 28th place in the standings.

The sophomore slump, whether real or imagined, seems to affect many young drivers.  It’s difficult to point to a reason why it happens, but it might be as simple as raised expectations cause the driver to push too hard at times.  What’s good for Ambrose though, is while he may be in only his second full Cup season, he is not an inexperienced racer.  A solid career in Australian V8 Supercars, followed by plenty of seat time in the Truck and Nationwide Series should aide him in dealing with the adversity.

It’s anybody’s guess when Ambrose’s bad luck will finally end, but make no mistake, Ambrose is a contender.  There is no reason why he couldn’t be a first time Sprint Cup winner in 2010.

Related posts:

• Ambrose Quietly Making Moves
• It’s Been A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Silly Season