A rare piece of Australian motorsport history turned a wheel for the first time on “home” soil at Queensland Raceway earlier this week.

The Ford Fusion NASCAR which Marcos Ambrose drove to his first win in NASCAR competition was back on track for the first time since it went to victory lane at Watkins Glen in the US in 2008.

The #59 STP Ford sat in storage in an old workshop in Charlotte North Carolina for more than a decade before being mechanically rebuilt last year and shipped to Australia.

The car is owned by well-known Australian motorsport entrepreneur and Marcos Ambrose’s former Media Manager Brett “Crusher” Murray who relocated it to the Gold Coast where it has been in storage at the Norwell Motorplex before being serviced in preparation for today’s exhibition session.

The car, which has approximately 800 horsepower and a top speed in excess of 320kph, was prepared and driven today by Supercars driver Brodie Kostecki who has extensive experience in US oval racing.

The car is currently for sale through leading auction house Lloyds Auctions and collectors have until 7pm AEDT on November 28 to bid on the incredible piece of machinery which has already attracted major national and international interest. The bid at the time of publishing was $215,000.

“That was a blast,” said Kostecki after cutting several laps.

“You forget just how loud and how cool these cars really are.

“When ‘Crusher’ (Brett Murray) asked me to get involved in this project I couldn’t believe my luck. With COVID going on it is difficult to get the the US, but Crusher brought a bit of America to me.

“The car was started once after its rebuild in the US and basically it fired up straight away after a few systems checks today. We didn’t even have to charge the batteries.

“I have driven similar cars in the past, but to be given the keys today to a car with such incredible history is something pretty special.

“The really cool thing is that the car is almost identical to the way it came off the track back in 2008 with every scratch, rub, dent and bump.

“Whoever buys this rig is going to be getting a pure race car with a pedigree that can be matched by no other car.

“There will only ever be one car that was taken to NASCAR victory lane by an Australian for the first time and this is it.”

The STP Ford has not been touched cosmetically since appearing in victory lane at the Zippo 200 and still has the remaining windscreen tear off strips that were unused during the race.

The Lloyds Auction has several fascinating cars for sale, including one of Rusty French’s Skye Sands Chevrolet Monte Carlo NASCARs and a Dallara Formula 3 car Will Power used to great effect on the Gold Coast in 2002.

A John Harvey HDT Torana, an ex-Jim Richards Porsche Carrera Cup Car and an Audi R8 LMS GT3 car (with the top bid currently at only $38,000) are also up for grabs.