NASCAR ace Marcos Ambrose has been voted as the Australian Driver of the Year by motor racing magazine Auto Action for the second-consecutive year.

Ambrose won the award by receiving 41 per cent of the vote, which was decided by readers of the magazine as part of its annual 'Racer of the Year Awards' issue.

Australian V8 Supercar Champion Jamie Whincup placed second behind Ambrose in with 25 per cent of the vote, with Aussie IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe placing third.

Showing how popular NASCAR has become following Ambrose's move Stateside, Sprint Cup title winner Jimmie Johnson was second in the overall 'Racer of the Year' standings.

“I am very lucky to have such great fans back home in Australia that take a lot of interest in my progress in NASCAR and the sport as a whole,” Ambrose said. “When I first moved to the US I really wanted to help Aussie fans learn about NASCAR. The way that NASCAR has taken off in Australia has really exceeded my expectations.

“Coming back here this off-season, there's been a lot of comments about things like Jimmie Johnson winning three-straight titles, Tony Stewart switching to his own team, Kyle Busch's hot streak, things like that.

“It really shows that NASCAR as a whole is growing over here in Australia. It's on both free-to-air and cable TV and it's getting a lot more exposure.

“A big thanks to Auto Action and all of the readers that voted for me. It's always nice when it's the fans that cast the votes.”

Ambrose will run a full-time schedule in the Sprint Cup next season with JTG Daugherty Racing and major sponsors Little Debbie, Kingsford, Clorox and Bush's Beans.