Penrite Racing reveals current wildcard position

Penrite Racing will consider wildcards in the future, but Team Principal David Cauchi insists the immediate focus is on its two-car operation.

Since the Grove squad took over the Kelly operation in 2022, Triple Eight, Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Dick Johnson Racing, Matt Stone Racing, Erebus Motorsport and the Blanchard Racing Team have run wildcards.

Team 18 will run a wildcard for Craig Lowndes next year, while Super2 teams Matt Chahda Motorsport and Image Racing have also run wildcards.

Penrite Racing currently sits second in the teams’ championship, and is the leading Ford team. Cauchi wants to keep it that way, rather than be offset by the "distractions of extra programs."

"We're still building as a team, we're still growing," Cauchi explained in Ipswich.

"We're the youngest team as such in the sport and so we have still got a lot to do to just focus on our two cars at the moment.

“We have been trying to minimise, call it, the distractions of extra programs.”

The team ran a Super2 program for Matt Payne in 2022, helping the Kiwi prepare for his Supercars debut in 2023.

The Groves are also no strangers to running GT programs, but Cauchi insisted the team’s Supercars operation needs more time before it can fit in a wildcard, or expand.

Grove Racing currently has Oscar Targett and Sebastian Tander in its junior program. Targett won the 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge title and moved to Carrera Cup this year.

With Payne and Kai Allen signed long-term, Targett could become the next Grove junior to rise to Super2.

19-year-old Targett also sampled Supercars machinery for the first time at a recent Queensland Raceway ride day, jumping behind the wheel of an ex-Michael Caruso Nissan Altima, as well as Cameron McLeod's Super2 Mustang, itself a former Kelly/Grove Racing chassis.

"I think running Super2 programs or wildcards is really good for developing people, so there are some advantages of running those programs for sure,” Cauchi added.

"We can't probably stay as just a two-car team forever, but for now I think it's the right strategy for where our team is at.

“[Triple Eight and Tickford] have been in the sport for a lot longer than we have, so in their life cycle they are at a point where they can manage those programs and integrate them into their team probably without impacting their main cars as much, whereas for us we're not quite at that point yet in our cycle.

"But it's something that we will definitely consider in the near future."

Payne and Allen are second and 11th in points heading to the first Ryco Enduro Cup round, the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 12-14.