Penske: 'I love these cars'

US motor racing mogul Roger Penske has given V8 Supercars racing the thumbs up.

Penske flew into Adelaide last Friday to watch Marcos Ambrose debut the DJR Team Penske Ford Falcon FG X at the Clipsal 500 and was clearly pleased with the two-time V8 Supercar champion's eighth place Sunday qualifying and 12th place Race Three finish.

But he also made it plain how much he was impressed by the category and the event based around a street circuit on Adelaide's city fringe.

"There are some great teams here and I love the cars and the competitive spirit with these drivers and teams. We have picked a real great series to come and compete in," he told v8supercars.com.au as the chequered fell on Sunday.

"It's been a great weekend, I am thrilled with this outlay in Adelaide and what they are doing for the fans. The environment here is as good as any place I go."

At a media conference on Friday Penske said the target was for Ambrose - who returned to the championship after nine years racing NASCAR in the USA - to finish in the top 15 by the end of the season.

While Ambrose qualified 24th for each of Saturday's two 125km races and then twice finished 16th, he showed a stunning improvement overnight to be ninth in the 20 minute qualifying session and then eighth in the ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout despite a run-off at turn four.

"I think the qualifying was probably the most rewarding for us today, because Marcos was struggling to try and keep up with the car and I think just running the two races yesterday gave him a lot of time in the car to understand what he had," said Penske, who had leapt to his feet pumping his fist when Ambrose completed his ARMOR ALL lap.

"The great qualifying this morning just showed we were competitive."

Ambrose ran in the top 10 early in the 250km Race Three, but over-shot his marks at his first pit stop and then was held up by slower traffic when he re-emerged. Running 14th on the last lap he jumped two positions because of the last lap multi-car crash triggered when Jamie Whincup and Chaz Mostert collided.

"Marcos ran a great race, but I think our strategy was just a little bit off by not coming in under the yellow," Penske said. "But coming in 12th is a great finish. It's 50 per cent of the way."

Penske has bought a majority ownership share in V8 legend Dick Johnson's team to go racing in Australia, which he plans to use as a promotional tool for his growing range of local transport industry investments.

He has signed Marcos Ambrose to a two-year deal to lead his first foray into Australian motorsport.

"I was never concerned about the investment I made (in racing in Australia)," said Penske. "I was just concerned that we could give these guys the tools they want and give Marcos the confidence that he needs to be a real winner."

Penske, who also runs Indycar and NASCAR teams in the USA, says he will attend two to three more V8 Supercars events this year, with his next visit possible within two months.