Pilgrimage to the Holy Grail of Motorsport

Australian V8 Ute category managers Bill West and Craig Denyer were spotted offshore recently at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in America.

They were guests of Wood Brother's Racing to see Marcos Ambrose race in the Craftsman Truck Series, held at O'Reilly Motorsport Park the Friday night before the Brickyard 400, then took in practise for the Nascar Nextel Cup event.

"We had a ball with Marcos and thoroughly enjoyed emptying his fridge of Miller Genuine Draft, along with a bunch of other Aussies," explained West. "What was impressive is just how big the whole Nascar experience is, not just at Indianapolis, but right across America. The Brickyard gives a whole new meaning to the word big and it's clear that Marcos is really starting to turn some heads in the States."

The Gold Coast based duo also took in the GM Motoring Experience in Las Vegas before moving on to Atlanta for a tour of th! e Panoz Motorsport Complex near Road Atlanta.

"We thought it was a great opportunity to have a look at the Craftsman series given the synergy with the ute's in Australia," Denyer stated. "They are wild machines, with over 730 horsepower and with 36 racing on a half mile oval, it was a pretty spectacular show. Marcos is having a ball, thoroughly enjoys the style of racing and bounced back the following weekend with a third at Kentucky. We also saw the new Panoz DP01 Champ car chassis under construction in Atlanta, which just looks sensational."

The race calendar for the 2007 Yokohama V8 Ute series is currently in the planning stages, with details expected to be announced by the end of October.