Small Mistake Costs Marcos Ambrose a Sprint Cup Victory

Many people say that one should live their life with no regrets. While as pleasant as that may sound, every person has at least one or two major regrets from some point in their life.

Today, Marcos Ambrose added his own personal regret, letting a Sprint Cup victory slip out of his hands.

It is not a time to chastise nor is it a time for tears. Ambrose drove a beautiful race from the drop of the green flag, as his Toyota seemed to be the only car capable of maintaining pace with Jimmie Johnson.

Ambrose's team, not used to pressure situations on pit road of this magnitude, not only rose to the occasion but flourished.

The race neared its endpoint where it looked like Marcos Ambrose would finally achieve his greatest professional triumph in impressive fashion.

And just that quickly, the moment was gone.

While it was a fleeting idea, it may be hard for most of us to truly understand what Ambrose feels at that moment. To say it is unimaginable, may not be too far of a stretch of the truth.

Ambrose handled his post-race interview with the class all have come to expect from him. While the look of disbelief and disappointment were evident, Ambrose placed no specific blame. There was no yelling, no tantrums, just a look of a driver with more pain in his eyes then we have seen sometimes.

Often we see drivers throw child-like tantrums because they could not power their way past the eighth place car. Macros Ambrose, for one brief moment, saw the cusp of his career within his grasp and, when it was lost, still maintained a respectable dignity afterwards.

For days there will be arguments over the interpretation of the rules or how NASCAR favors Jimmie Johnson over the small guy. What few will discuss is Ambrose's actions after the race and how he publicly has handled his greatest professional lost and greatest personal embarrassment.

So tonight, Macros Ambrose, I shall raise a cold Australian beer in your honor. While tonight maybe the most sleepless night of your life, take solace in the fact that for a brief time you not only ran with the best, but were beating them.

And no one can take that away from you.