The traits that convinced Brad Jones to sign Jason Richards

Raw speed and personality were key selling points to Brad Jones of Jason Richards, whose life will be celebrated as Supercars returns to New Zealand.

The late Richards has been immortalised in a perpetual trophy that, from 2026, will be won by the highest point scorer across the ITM NZ Double Header.

Brad Jones Racing famously won the first ever Richards Trophy courtesy of Jason Bright, who pulled off a stunner in 2013 to leave no dry eyes at Pukekohe.

BJR has come close since, winning races at Pukekohe in 2014 (Bright) and Taupō in 2024 (Andre Heimgartner), only to fall short of the JR Trophy.

The trophy remains a big goal for Jones, who signed outgoing Tasman Motorsport driver Richards to his team in 2009 in the place of Andrew Jones.

Richards arrived at BJR in form, scoring a Bathurst podium with Greg Murphy in 2008. Come 2009, and Richards scored a famous pole in Darwin, before pushing Garth Tander all the way in a remarkable Bathurst performance.

“What I saw in Jason when he was racing is he was a lovely personality, really easy-going type of guy,” Jones said in a special video feature with Supercars.com.

“But the raw speed that he had was staggering. That was the thing that certainly got my attention to start with. And then of course, we spent time getting to know each other and it went from there.

"I have a lot of fond memories of Jason and it can be anything from funny times that we had together to his speed in the race car.”

As cancer exposed Richards to his greatest fight, he put racing on hold. However, he was competitive right to the last, claiming a 2010 Phillip Island 500 podium, before opening 2011 with a Super2 win in Adelaide. In a spirited non-championship cameo at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, he raced to the podium.

Richards remained a key part of the BJR family, and famously took the podium with Bright when the latter won at Winton in 2011.

Jones revealed another selfless act from Richards, who didn’t believe he was worthy to take the podium. Jones saw the team player that Richards was, and decided he was the best fit.

“The second race we ever won at Winton, he went on the podium. He was very much a team player. That side of him is something that I look back on and remember,” Jones said.

"I felt he needed to go on the podium that day because he was an important part of the team.

"He had a massive battle going on in his life, and in truth, he was not that keen to go there because he didn't feel like it was his spot. But I felt, and so did Brighty, that it was where he should be.

“He was still part of the team. He still came to the races when he could.”

Richards died in December 2011, but his legacy remains strong, both at BJR and in the Supercars paddock.

BJR cars have sported the JR star ever since, and ran with Bright and Heimgartner during their famous wins. Some would say Richards was in the car with them, so strong was the spirit in both performances.

"JR will definitely forever be part of the family here at BJR," Jones said.

"I thought long and hard about if he lost that battle, because it was a pretty tough one, how we would remember him and not let his memory fade.

"And usually what happens is someone passes away and then someone will do something, but that's not really the way we wanted that to happen here at BJR.

“Originally my idea was to have a shooting star, but it didn't quite work out. And so I told him at a point in time that we would put a star with his logo in it on the car, and it'd be on every single car that we had anything to do with."

What remains strongest of all, is Jones’ desire to have that feeling. For the racer turned team owner, delivering the JR Trophy to Albury is mission No. 1 in Supercars.

“This is the JR Trophy's rightful home, in my opinion,” Jones said.

"I couldn't begin to tell you how important it was to win it the first time. We've been close a couple more times, but haven't quite been able to wrap our hands around it.

“This year is not gonna be easy. We've two [rounds] now, new cars, new manufacturer.

“But it does mean a lot, you know, to me it’s as important as winning a Bathurst. I feel like it's something that I mark on the calendar at the start of each year, and we go off after it as hard as we can."