MA: “Probably not, because to gain their respect you’ve got to perform on the race track. The important thing is to run fast and run well in the races.
“I guess Mexico helped us get some credit there on the road-course racing, but we have to match that for the ovals. My focus right is to have a couple of solid runs on the ovals and build some confidence there and get the respect that way.”
THE SERIES HEADS TO LAS VEGAS THIS WEEKEND, A TRACK THAT WAS RECONFIGURED LAST YEAR. CAN YOU COMMENT ON YOUR TEST SESSION THERE LAST MONTH?
MA: “It’s a tough one, someone like myself – a rookie – trying to compete in Busch racing at a place like Las Vegas. We had a good test. We ran strong and in the top 10 both days, but I’ve got a lot to learn and I don’t feel comfortable yet on the ovals, as much as I should.
“When I’m doing a fast lap, I’m holding my breath, so I hope to get over that hurdle sooner rather than later and start to feel confident going into these oval races.”
YOU RAN THE TRUCK SERIES RACE AT LAS VEGAS LAST YEAR AFTER THE TRACK WAS RECONFIGURED. WILL THAT BE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE?
MA: “I think it neutralises itself out. The Cup regulars are going to be doing twice as many laps in practice than I will, so you can’t say that they’re not going to have enough laps on the race track considering we’ve already done two days of testing there. I think it’s going to balance out to nothing.
“I feel like I’m not going in with any advantage into Vegas compared to California.”
![Marcos Ambrose - Kingsford Charcoal/Wood Bros Ford [pic credit: BAM media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/292515.jpg)
