Marcos Ambrose, the hard-charging Tasmanian, carved out one of the most memorable careers in Australian and American racing history. Known for his aggressive yet precise driving style, he clinched back-to-back Supercars Championships in 2003 and 2004 with Stone Brothers Racing, dominating the competitive Australian touring car scene.

His ambition then led him across the globe, where he successfully transitioned to the pinnacle of stock car racing, becoming a celebrated NASCAR race winner. He was a gladiator on the track, defined by his relentless pursuit of victory. But no amount of racing skill could prepare him for the sudden, terrifying, and silent battle that was about to begin off the track.

NASCAR legend breaks silence after two-year struggle

Over the past two years, Ambrose has been fighting colorectal cancer, a diagnosis that escalated to stage four and spread to his liver. The harrowing ordeal ultimately required a full liver transplant to save his life. His remarkable story came to light during the Pirtek Legends Night, where he was inducted as the latest honoree and chose the occasion to share his private struggle publicly.

“My diagnosis came really quickly and suddenly and very much unexpectedly,” he said, recalling the moment his life took an unimaginable turn in mid-2023. “I was digging a trench in my backyard and I had a sore shoulder. I didn’t think much of it. I’d just done the Bathurst 6 Hour with George Miedecke and his dad. I felt a bit tired, I was struggling to exercise, but you know, I was just getting old.” 

What seemed like a simple ache turned out to be something far more sinister. “I went to the doctor for a sore shoulder and within 12 hours I was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer. They called it terminal at the time.” The pain, doctors later discovered, stemmed from inflammation in his liver, where the cancer had already spread.

For Ambrose, the speed of diagnosis and its gravity were shocking. “We caught it late, because there were no symptoms, no signs. And it had spread,” he explained. “The only place to go and deal with this is actually to start doing cancer treatment with chemotherapy, to try to hold it back. They deemed it at the time inoperable, and sort of like, we just have to manage this.” 

Against the odds, the chemotherapy began to work, slowing the disease and offering a faint glimmer of hope. “I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess, that the chemotherapy worked hard and opened a window for a couple of surgeries to try to get in front of it,” Ambrose said. “We were opened up to a possibility, subject to a lot of criteria, to do a [liver] transplant.”

Ambrose would go on to become only the third person in Australia to receive a liver transplant under such conditions. The process, however, was as mentally draining as it was physically demanding. Forced to leave his native Tasmania, Ambrose relocated to Sydney to await the call that would decide his fate. “You had to be within an hour of the hospital at all times,” he explained, keeping his phone close day and night.

The wait was agonizing not only for him but for his family, who were split apart during the ordeal. His daughter, Adelaide, remained in Launceston to finish school while he and his wife endured months of uncertainty in Sydney. When the call finally came, it brought both salvation and sorrow, with a reminder that another family’s loss had become his lifeline.

“I couldn’t be here without my wife and my kids and my dad and everybody,” Ambrose reflected. “It’s just incredible. You need that around you to get through something like that. It was awful for me to think [my kids] might not see a good dad again.”

Now, with a renewed lease on life, Ambrose’s focus has shifted toward family and purpose. Much of his recovery has centered around a shared racing program with his daughter Tabitha, encompassing Trans Am and Formula Ford, giving him a chance to nurture her passion while staying connected to the sport that defined him.

Just as importantly, he has become a powerful advocate for organ donation. The first $100,000 raised during the Pirtek Legends Night was donated to Donate Life, an organization Ambrose now proudly supports.

“I’ve found a lot of inner peace, and I’ve found a lot of inner self, because you go through a huge journey,” he said. “But that’s just my story; everyone’s got their own story out there. That’s one thing I’ve realised, everybody’s got stories to tell. I’m not special. I’m not unique. I’m just another person that’s going through something. We’ve done it tough. Everything is going great. We don’t know what’s [happening] tomorrow, but we’re living every day. My life was saved by the grace of somebody else.” 

But now, Ambrose has once again found hope in racing through his daughter.

Father-daughter duo unite to celebrate the new Supercars era

This year, Marcos Ambrose returned to one of his most successful venues: the Adelaide Street Circuit, this time with his daughter Tabitha Ambrose by his side. The pair served as the official ‘Fanbassadors’ for the 2025 bp Adelaide Grand Final, marking a new era for the Supercars Championship while celebrating the circuit’s 40th anniversary.

Reflecting on the honor, Ambrose said, “I have many great memories in Adelaide, and it will be a special experience to return with Tabitha as ‘Fanbassadors’ of the bp Adelaide Grand Final. I’ve always looked back on the event as being one of the greatest motorsport spectacles… I’ve seen up-close how cut-throat and nail-biting a finals format can be in NASCAR, and I’m excited to see that playout to decide the Supercars champion alongside Tabitha.”

Tabitha echoed her father’s enthusiasm, saying, “I’ve heard many great stories from Dad’s wins in 2004 and 2005 in Adelaide, and everyone I’ve raced or worked alongside has raved on about the event… As both a racing driver and a fan, being able to see the Adelaide Street Circuit for its 40th anniversary will be a nice moment.”

The Ambroses’ involvement underscored the event’s multigenerational appeal, uniting past champions and emerging stars for an unforgettable motorsport spectacle.