Bright to run number 500 for Townsville

Brad Jones Racing is paying tribute to Jason Bright's 500th race start in Townsvilleby running the number '500' on his Team BOC Commodore.

The number change is just one way the team will celebrate the milestone at the Castrol EDGE Townsville 400 - which only two other current V8 Supercars drivers have achieved, Garth Tander and Craig Lowndes - with more to be revealed next week as his 500th race on Saturday edges closer.

Bright celebrated one of his most emotional wins with the team in 2013, winning the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy in New Zealand, and his 20 career race wins include the Bathurst 1000, Sandown 500 and Clipsal 500.

Forty-two year old Bright, who has been with Brad Jones Racing since 2010, lists the JR Trophy win as his biggest achievement with the team.

"[It was a] pretty special day - to win that trophy meant a lot to the team," he said on Inside Supercars last night.

"Obviously the team started off the year exceptionally well ... and we really wanted to bring that trophy home. So to make that happen was pretty special."

The most exciting part was that he had to win the weekend's final race to clinch the trophy and despite being passed early by eventual 2013 Champion Jamie Whincup, he crossed the line first with a win that seemed meant to be.

"That weekend ... we had good speed. I went to bed Saturday night leading the points - obviously [it was] accumulative points for the weekend - so I thought there was a lot of pressure on me for Sunday to finish the job," he said.

"I got pole, Whincup beat us off the line, and we got him back. To actually win the race to take home the trophy made it even better."

His Bathurst 1000 win with Stone Brothers Racing and Steven Richards in 1998 was also a key highlight, along with the Clipsal 500 in 2001, when Bright drove alongside Mark Skaife at the Holden Racing Team.

Bright earned ARMOR ALL Pole Position at Townsville last year for the longer Sunday race, but finished 17th, slapped with a pit lane drive through penalty for spinning wheels in a pit stop. His best finish at the Queensland street circuit was fifth on the Saturday of 2013.

He currently sits 13th in the Championship, just one point off 12th placed Tim Slade, with teammate Fabian Coulthard in the Freightliner Racing Commodore third on the table. The Team BOC driver finished 11th in the title fight last year.

The Castrol EDGE Townsville 400 runs from July 10-12, with tickets available now.

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