BUSCH: Ambrose set for off.

Team Australia's Marcos Ambrose will make his NASCAR Busch Series debut when he races the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion in the Orbitz 300 at Daytona International Speedway in Florda this Saturday.

The Australian is taking a measured approach into the opening race of the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series as the event marks a number of firsts for the two-time Australian V8 Supercar champion.

After 22 starts in last season's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Ambrose will this weekend make his Busch Series debut, start his first race at the 2.5-mile Daytona superspeedway and work in race conditions for the first time with crew chief Greg Conner and #59 Kingsford Ford crew from Wood Brothers/JTG Racing.

After a series of successful preseason tests at Daytona, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Virginia International Raceway, Ambrose and the Aussie Vineyards-backed #59 Kingsford Charcoal Ford Fusion are certainly ready for the challenge of the first race of the season at Daytona.

Realising the long 35-race season ahead and his status as a Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender, Ambrose plans to use a conservative approach at Daytona to get a solid finish under his belt to begin his second season in NASCAR.

"Daytona is all about making the finish for us," said Ambrose. "We will be setting ourselves to run a nice, solid pace and we will not be worrying about any heroics.

"It is always going to be a bit of a lottery whether you get involved in someone else's wreck, but we will be doing everything we can to avoid risk for this first race of the season.

"We will just roll around for the first half of the race, then set out to improve the pace and move up a little in the second half. I've felt very comfortable in the car to date so it will be important to continue that and feel in control and not get into any trouble.

"I know I'm a rookie out there so I've got to finish to gain as much experience as I can, then work on building that for the next few races.

"I'm very excited about making my Busch Series debut at such a big event. It feels so great to be moving forward here in NASCAR. This is such a great sport and a great environment to work in.

"The Kingsford Charcoal team is ready and so am I, so we will be doing our best to make sure everything goes to plan for this first race of the season."