Supercars Stars - who is next?

Darwin's Hidden Valley always produces good racing.

No matter what the era, Supercars have been a great sight on the long, fast straight and the very technical ‘infield’ sections.

But I was presented with a very different view of Supercars 2026 style after the event by a friend, who watched a lot of the weekend telecast on FOX.

He really enjoyed it.

The racing was great, he added.

BUT…. apart from Chaz Mostert and …. he thought Brodie Kostecki and Cam Waters…although not sure, he said….” … “I hardly knew any of the drivers!”

Just let that sink in.

Not a die-hard but an enthusiast, who probably will go to the Grand Prix and maybe the odd Sandown. The exact dad with kids who should be prime targets.

So, there lies a fascinating and important dilemma for Supercars.

Now, those who know me would testify that I am a true believer in Heroes, not Technical ‘mumbo jumbo’, but the post-Darwin conversation has really ignited a flame.

Supercars have been fixated on cars, rules, aero, and manufacturers now for years, at the expense of developing young talent into household names.

For the life of Gen3, the digital space, the newspaper space, the press releases, and the hype have all centred around the Gen3 chassis targeting Ford’s Mustang GT and GM’s Chevy Camaro.

The introduction of the Toyota Supra only highlighted this.

Now, the arrival of a new full-blown global manufacturer was and is big news, and should never be underestimated, but now that the Supra is racing and indeed winning, the pendulum must swing to the pilots. The stars of the show.

The sport must address this as new drivers emerge.

A perfect example was a lost opportunity at the conclusion of the 2024 Supercars Championship.

The 25th running of the Adelaide 500 delivered a first-time Supercars Champion. A young, effervescent knockabout Toowoomba Car Salesman by the name of Will Brown was crowned the 2024 Supercars Champion in his first year with the juggernaut Triple 888 team.

Outside of the die-hard fans of the sport, who would have known?

The biggest event Brown fronted after his triumph at the Adelaide 500 was a fan day at his family's Cars Galore dealership in Toowoomba.

Triple 888 came to the party with the transporter, merch and the winning # 87 Camaro on show for the many, many local fans.

Why wasn’t this young gun managed and sent on a national media blitz? He could have been on morning TV shows, radio interviews, and appearances. Not to mention a strategic, concerted, ongoing social media campaign. He was then a super asset for Supercars, but now, two years on, only the week-to-week fans even know who he is.

In 2025, the most well-known driver, following Jamie Whincup’s retirement, Chaz Mostert, snagged an incredible victory in a finale fit for a Hollywood Blockbuster. Heroes, villains, conspiracy theorists – Adelaide 2025 had it all, and Chaz was and is a great ambassador for the sport.

But even now, the cheeky, fun-filled, pink / orange / who knows what colour hair is older and a family man, who is loving life and driving as well as ever.

But had he been embraced by the sport and a clear marketing strategy built by Supercars around him seven or eight years ago, he would now be an even greater headline act for the sport.

But Toyota outshone the stars, and now we are back to concessions for Chevrolet, and parity argy bargy. Who cares?

So, back to my colleague.

Did he know that Will Brown was a Supercars Champion? When prompted. Yes.

Had he heard of Cam Hill, Jobe Stewart, Zach Bates, Rylan Gray, Jackson Walls and even some of the established drivers, such as Thomas Randle, Jack LeBroq, and Macauley Jones? Ahh no. ‘Who do they drive for?’

Unfair, you say?, Yes for rookies maybe, but I bet he can rattle off at least half a dozen or more names of his AFL football side.

But some super young drivers present well, understand media, and look like the full package. Kai Allen and Jayden Ojeda spring straight to mind. Now, they and others need to be front and centre in Supercars Marketing. It is a bigger project than just letting the teams and drivers themselves build profiles.

In recent years, we have had brilliant race drivers in the form of Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin crowned Supercars Champions. They both had very different media profiles.

Shane was almost dismissive, but we have seen his NASCAR persona skyrocket. Was it just environmental, or did NASCAR really have something special to promote and get behind him?

So, too McLaughlin. And a different kettle of fish.

Immensely popular in Australia and NZ, he was media savvy, and his profile flourished. Well, who could forget this…. “I just plucked it in first, gave it some jandal and fuck yeah.” Scott became an instant hero!

But they all edged their way into the media because of success, great teams behind them, and they were highly promotable.

Even if our young guns are now corporate-controlled, politically correct athletes, the sport must help and develop clear paths for them to flourish.

It would be highly unlikely that a large proportion of the huge 2025 Bathurst 1000 audience could name the three drivers battling it out in treacherous conditions in those final stages of the race, in a superlative display of driving.

But if that had been Marcos Ambrose, Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife driving, recognition would be instant.

And what about rivalries? Remember Peter Brock and Dick Johnson? How about Mark Skaife and Russel Ingall?

The biggest punch thrown so far this year was Cam Waters calling Andre Heimgartner a B-grade driver.

And the quotes were as soft as jelly.

"We'll move on, and make the car a bit faster, and hopefully we don't have to race the B-grade drivers," Waters told Supercars.com

.

Heimgartner shrugged off the run-in and post-race confrontation, saying: "I don't have any problem with it, we were just debriefing and he came in a bit upset, which I understand. He got taken out, but it wasn't from me,” the BJR Toyota driver said.

"He was just saying something about something, I don't know, but a bit rich coming from him,” Heimgartner added.

Fire and brimstone!

Frankly, seeing Mark Skaife with a clenched fist walking towards the track at Eastern Creek, and Russel Ingall veering at him was better theatre.

So, come on, Supercars – embrace the talent we have and let’s get some heroes and villains back in the sport.

Pics: Supercars / Australian Motor Sport Images / News Ltd 2018