DJR Team Penske aims to confirm further details of its 2015 V8 Supercars assault at December’s Sydney 500, including the identity of its second driver.
Ambrose will take the place of current DJR driver David Wall, who is not expected to remain with the team beyond the end of the season.
Wall’s team-mate Scott Pye, who finished fifth alongside Ash Walsh in the recent Wilson Security Sandown 500, is currently the leading candidate to drive the second DJR Penske Ford.
Pye joined DJR on a two-year deal covering 2014 and 2015, after which he’ll have a single season left on his five-year management agreement with Triple Eight principal Roland Dane.
Dane’s own current drivers, Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, both come off-contract at the end of 2015, leaving Pye to potentially switch to Triple Eight the following season.
In order to combat such a scenario, it is expected that Penske will push for a new multi-year agreement with Pye if the former British Formula Ford Champion is to stay on.
Ryan Story, who has been appointed managing director of DJR Team Penske, says that his squad aims to have its second car sorted by the Sydney 500, which will be attended by Ambrose and Penske president Tim Cindric.
“We’re still looking at putting together the program for the second car,” Story told Speedcafe.com.
“Our focus in the immediate past has been on securing the partnership with Team Penske and Marcos.
“We’re now focussing on broader 2015 plans and at the right time we’ll be able to talk about those.
“(Sydney) is a good point of the year and we’ll have Tim Cindric and Marcos both in town for the event,” he added.
“So there’s an opportunity there to talk about more of our 2015 plans at that point in time.”
Sponsorship for either Penske entry is yet to be confirmed, although is expected to primarily promote the US giant’s growing Australian trucking interests.
Story confirmed that DJR is discussing extensions with its range of current partners, although dismissed suggestions that the Australian outfit is required to fund the second car as part of the alliance.
Penske himself stressed during last week’s teleconference that his operation is “taking on the responsibility with the majority ownership to fund the team”.
The 77-year-old’s interest in V8 Supercars was sparked late last year as he began to grow his empire into the Australian market.
The Penske Automotive Group acquired the Commercial Vehicles Group from Transpacific Industries in August, 2013, taking control of the importation and distribution of Western Star trucks, MAN trucks, MAN buses and Dennis Eagle trucks for Australia and New Zealand.
Penske then moved into the Australian truck rental and leasing market mid-way through this year, introducing the famed Penske Truck Rentals brand that operates more than 200,000 vehicles in the United States.
The empire was expanded further last week with the purchase of MTU Detroit Diesel Australia, which distributes a range of diesel and gas engines and power systems, as well as providing aftersales support.
Penske expects that MTU-DD will contribute up to $250 million in annual revenue to his global operation, which turned over a record $4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2014.
“I’m sure you’ll see the brands that we represent in some way, shape or form on the vehicle,” Penske said of sponsorship for his V8 Supercars.
“You might see multiple sponsors on our car or cars as we go forward because of the relationships we have here.”
As previously reported, Penske’s entry into V8 Supercars with two Ford Falcons has come despite a lack of funding from the manufacturer.
CLICK HERE for more with Penske and Cindric about the DJR Team Penske alliance