The next Supercars driver market dominoes to fall after Waters deal

Supercars' driver market dominoes are on the verge of falling down, with Cam Waters opting to remain with Tickford Racing and Ford for the next two seasons.

While the silly season rumour mill usually hits top gear from July onwards, Tickford Racing has made a big play by extending with superstar Waters, as well as teammate and regular podium contender Thomas Randle.

Waters was the key domino in the market, with General Motors known to have approached the 30-year-old amid the lure of a big money deal to shift to Chevrolet.

However, Waters and Randle are sticking with Tickford, taking the publicly confirmed number of drivers for 2026 to 14, with others likely to continue. It now leaves questions over those that remain, and what could happen next.

The 2026 grid so far

Triple Eight (Will Brown, Broc Feeney), Tickford (Waters, Randle), Walkinshaw Andretti United (Chaz Mostert, Ryan Wood) and Penrite Racing (Matt Payne, Kai Allen) will remain unchanged into 2026.

Two of those line-ups will race for new manufacturers; Brown and Feeney for Ford, and Mostert and Wood for Toyota.

Nick Percat is contracted through 2027 with Matt Stone Racing, while Andre Heimgartner will follow Brad Jones Racing to Toyota in 2026. Will Davison, meanwhile, is also set to remain with Dick Johnson Racing.

2025 recruits Brodie Kostecki (DJR), Anton De Pasquale (Team 18) and Cooper Murray (Erebus Motorsport) are also set to go around again in 2026.

What's left?

There's still plenty to play out: there are seats publicly unconfirmed at DJR, MSR, BJR, PremiAir Racing, Team 18, Erebus, and Blanchard Racing Team. Of those seats, one will definitely change, with BRT veteran James Courtney retiring at the end of 2025.

MSR (Cameron Hill), James Golding (PremiAir Racing), Team 18 (David Reynolds) and Erebus (Jack Le Brocq) all entered this year with drivers coming off-contract.

The new big mover in the market is Hill, who is four rounds into a breakout season with MSR. The Canberran won in Melbourne, and is five positions ahead of teammate Percat in the points. Given his form and stability at MSR, there is sense to Hill staying on for a fourth season at Yatala.

After being announced alongside Kostecki for 2025, Davison is also set to go around again with DJR in 2026. The two-time Bathurst winner rejoined the team in 2021 after an earlier stint between 2006 and 2008.

Team 18, meanwhile, has clinched GM homologation team honours for 2026, and has De Pasquale locked into "multi-year deal." Reynolds signed a multi-year deal from 2024 and is believed to have an option for 2026, but is closer to the end than the beginning.

Golding has also proven a solid leader for PremiAir Racing since joining midway through 2022. Since his 2018 debut, Golding has measured up against teammates of the likes of Garth Tander, Richie Stanaway, Garry Jacobson and Tim Slade.

Le Brocq, meanwhile, is currently in his second year with Erebus. He previously completed two-year stints at Tekno Autosports, Tickford and MSR.

The aforementioned drivers are all quick and consistent on their days, but as was the case with Murray and Kai Allen last year, there is a group of rising stars looking to make their way in.

Notably, Super2 champion Zach Bates has a chance to impress aboard a Triple Eight wildcard this year, while Tickford juniors Rylan Gray and Lochie Dalton will get wildcard starts of their own with the Ford team.

With Waters and Randle locked in at Tickford, current Super2 leader Gray could become hot property should one of the aforementioned teams look to promote youth.

Bates also has family ties to Toyota, while Erebus has rising stars Jobe Stewart and Jarrod Hughes in its academy. Zak Best recently declared his desire to secure a 2026 drive, having recently announced a co-drive with BRT.

Take a look at all confirmed line-ups, listed in current teams' championship order.

2026 Supercars grid (as of Wednesday June 4, 2025)