Matt Stone Racing unveils three-car operation in 2017
Matt Stone Racing has announced its Supercars Dunlop Series 2017 campaign, unveiling newest recruit Brodie Kostecki and welcoming back Todd Hazelwood and Adam Marjoram.
The team expects to fight at the front of the pack this year after claiming the Dunlop Series Privateers Cup for the highest placed non-main series affiliated team at the Supercars Gala Awards in 2016.
This year the team expands to a three-car operation aiming to step up its game.
“This year we want to show we can do it the best of everyone,” Stone told Supercars.com.
“Dunlop Series is our main focus and we can do it as good, if not better than the main game teams we are competing against.”
Matt Stone Racing’s latest talent Brodie Kostecki previously raced in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in America in 2014 and 2015 and has recently returned to Perth, Australia, where he is working.
“I raced in a few categories in America in the same sort of Series over there, it’s a development series for the top ranks for the NASCAR Series,” Kostecki said.
“It’s the equivalent of the Dunlop Series over there, pretty much.
“I did two years in that and had small success in some areas, got a few poles and top fives but I haven’t been in a car in the last year and a half.”
The 19-year-old is Kurt and Jake Kostecki’s first cousin – they also run Supercars in their own Dunlop Series team, Kostecki Brothers Racing. Kurt stepped up to the main game last year to cover for injured Lee Holdsworth for two Supercars events.
Kostecki says he is passionate about motorsport and willing to drive anything.
“I’ve always liked Supercars … I’ve been blessed with a good opportunity in the Dunlop Series with Matt Stone so hopefully it’ll lead somewhere in the future within Supercars,” Kostecki said.
Stone said he started working with Kostecki in late November and locked in their 2017 deal prior to Christmas.
“Once we knew all our plans with our new Car of the Future and we knew we had a car available we locked it in then,” Stone told Supercars.com.
Stone confirmed the team would pick up Craig Lowndes’s 2016 Chassis from Triple Eight today for Hazelwood to run this season. Marjoram will steer the team’s second Car of the Future, a Triple Eight chassis campaigned by Tekno and driven by Hazelwood in his 2016 campaign.
“Brodie for his first year in the category will be running the older car,” Stone said, referring to teammate Adam Marjoram’s 2016 Falcon FG.
“It’s pretty much just learning the category and ‘finding his feet’ sort of year because he is in an old spec car, he is limited a little bit because the cars are not as good as the Car of the Future.
“For his first year in the category he should be able to get up there in the top 15 mid-pack, that’s where we are aiming for the first year.
“It’s a 12-month deal and obviously he will be looking to step into a car of the future the following season so we will just have to see what our availabilities are come the end of the season.”
Kostecki highlighted his excitement to be back on-track at their upcoming test day at Queensland Raceway in February.
“I’ll go there and hopefully bounce some stuff off Todd,” Kostecki said.
“I’ll use the first half of the year as a learning curve and try and attack the second part of the year.”
Kostecki will make his racing debut at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide, March 2-5.
