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If you think you have spotted Marcos Ambrose on the street sometime in the next month, you could be right.

Particularly if you live in Tasmania. Ambrose is home again after a brilliant year in the Sprint Cup in the USA that included leading four laps in the grand final last weekend in Florida.

He is now a genuine star in Nascar and a long way down the road from the days when he won his back-to-back V8 Supercar championships in Australia.

But the transplanted Tasmanian still calls Tassie home and jetted back from the USA with his family as soon as he wrapped his season with 25th place - and 18th in the championship - at Homestead in Florida. “Going to hang out with my friends and family and just get my mind and body back in shape,” Ambrose says. “I’ve got a little townhouse in Launceston, my hometown, and I like going down and getting the milk and paper in the mornings from the local store. Just being a normal, average Joe. “It’s a crazy world we live in and sometimes you just need a moment to reflect on what you’re all about and I use my off-season well. I really try to get back, get my feet on the ground and not move for a while.”

He will still guest star at the V8 Supercar grand final in Sydney on the first weekend of December, but is not pushing. “I’ve got some TV stuff to do do. I’ve got an American film crew coming down to do some filming during testing in Tasmania, which is exciting,” he says. “We’ve got a little bit of stuff to do, but primarily it’s just about getting back home, forgetting about turning left for a while and get back to normal living.”

Homestead went well for Ambrose, even though a puncture and engine problem held him back after qualifying in a terrific third place in his Toyota Camry.

It’s no surprise to anyone who knows Ambrose that he over-delivered on his 2009 targets and is already locked and loaded for a stronger run in 2010. “We didn’t expect that we would be in position to finish in the top 20 in points because we were just hoping to finish in the top 30,” Ambrose says. “We have exceeded our expectations and we have been very competitive. We have seven top-10 finishes, but were so close to having more. We had at least three 11th-place finishes that, with a bit of luck would have been top 10s. “But, it doesn’t really matter. We’ve done plenty this year.” “I’m a lot more confident as a driver and secure in myself that I can do the job.”

So what is Ambrose’s goal for 2010. “We want to win a race and make the Chase (the Chase for the Nascar championship, restricted to the top 12 drivers on points),” he says. “You can’t guarantee you are going to move forward. It’s a challenging world we live in. We are very focused on understanding that not every step is going to be forward and sometimes you may take a step backwards. “Sure, it’s a lofty goal, but I think it’s achievable if everything goes well. I think we are worthy of it and can do it.”