Gallery: Caruso's days as 'Robbo'
Michael Caruso made an unexpected Garry Rogers Motorsport return last month, deputising for the injured Richie Stanaway in the Watpac Townsville 400 and Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint.
Caruso's full-time Supercars debut came with GRM back in 2008, his five seasons with the team netting a maiden victory and Bathurst podium.
Six years in Kelly Racing Nissans started in 2013 and took him to the end of '18, with Caruso then signed by Tickford Racing for this year's PIRTEK Enduro Cup.
In true GRM style, he was assigned a nickname, Robbo – as in the fictional character Robinson Crusoe – which got a new lease of life in recent weeks.
Caruso graduated from Super2 in 2008, making his full-time debut in the Adelaide season opener.
A maiden top 10, eighth, came at Winton in his rookie season.
Caruso's first podium was actually a victory, at Hidden Valley in 2009.
Caruso held off Alex Davison, the pair joined on the Sunday podium by Craig Lowndes.
Later that year, Lee Holdsworth kept Greg Murphy at bay to finish third at Bathurst.
That remains the only Bathurst podium for both Caruso and Holdsworth.
Caruso finished 2009 on a podium full of Sydney drivers, accompanied by James Courtney and Mark Winterbottom, in the maiden Homebush event.
Eleventh in the championship in 2009 and '10, Caruso pictured above at Hamilton, was his best finish with GRM.
Four of Caruso's five GRM seasons were alongside Holdsworth.
Fourth and sixth made Homebush Caruso's best weekend of 2011, on his way to 14th in the standings.
Holdsworth left GRM for Stone Brothers Racing in 2012, elevating Caruso to team leader alongside Alex Premat.
He grabbed fifth with Greg Ritter on his final GRM Bathurst start.
And hammed it up with the GRM crew and IndyCar-regular co-driver James Hinchcliffe on the Gold Coast.
Caruso then left GRM for the new Nissan Motorsport program after the Homebush 2012 finale.
A casual 2,406 days later, he was back in the GRM garage at the 2019 Watpac Townsville 400.
Caruso finished ninth in the wild Sunday race, with team-mate James Golding seventh on GRM's best day of the season thus far.
He stayed on for the Queensland Raceway meeting, finishing 20th in his 350th Supercars start on the Sunday.
