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Marcos Ambrose will not return to Richard Petty Motorsports in 2015

Marcos Ambrose will not return to Richard Petty Motorsports in 2015

Richard Petty Motorsports announced Saturday morning that Marcos Ambrose wouldn't return to the No. 9 in 2015.

Ambrose will be returning to his native Australia. The team termed it a personal decision.

"Marcos will always be a part of our extended racing family,"Richard Petty said in a statement. "He came over to the United States with his family and dedicated his time here to giving it the best he had each week. I couldn't ask anything more from Marcos and his commitment on and off of the track to our race team and our partners. Away from the track, he's a family person first. That's something I respect and we'll miss Marcos, Sonja and their children."

Ambrose narrowly missed qualifying for the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup by finishing second to A.J. Allmendinger at Watkins Glen. He's currently 23rd in the Sprint Cup points standings.

The Glen is where Ambrose has collected his two career Sprint Cup victories. He won there in 2011 and 2012. He also has five career Nationwide series victories; his last came at, you guessed it, Watkins Glen in 2014.

There have been rumors that Ambrose could be a driver possibility for a potential V8 Supercars team with ownership from Roger Penske. Team Penske's Tim Cindric offered this tweet Saturday.

The team said it was "currently evaluating several driver opportunities to help drive the No. 9 team forward and will make a future announcement at the appropriate time."

While the No. 9 car isn't considered an elite competitor in the Cup Series, it's a very good opportunity for a young driver if RPM wants to go in that directon. Or it could give David Ragan -- still a young driver at 28 -- another shot in a good ride. Ragan has driven for Front Row Motorsports for the past three seasons after he parted ways with Roush Fenway Racing at the end of 2011. Ragan won at Talladega in 2013.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!