Special milestone caps off Kostecki's Sprint Cup turnaround

Brodie Kostecki's seventh win of the 2026 season, and his 10th as a Dick Johnson Racing driver, might have been the most special one yet in Shell colours for the 2024 Bathurst winner.

After a wobble in Perth, Kostecki immediately put any doubts to bed as he comfortably claimed victory from the front row after picking off polesitter Matt Payne in the opener, decisively overtaking the sister Penrite entry of Kai Allen after his stop to seal the deal.

There to greet Kostecki after his win was legendary team owner Dick Johnson and wife Jill, marking the first time the Johnsons had seen Kostecki win for their team in person.

Ironically, Kostecki's Saturday victory at Ipswich took him off 17 career victories, having hit that milestone in Townsville in the famed #17 Shell V-Power Ford.

Save for the annual pilgrimage to Bathurst, the sight of the legendary Johnson at Supercars events is becoming rarer, though he is still as popular a figure as ever among fans.

Kostecki admitted that winning at the circuit of which the front straight bears Johnson's name, was particularly meaningful

"It was actually the first one, I believe, that I've done in front of Dick and Jill," Kostecki revealed on his Lucky Dogs podcast.

"It was really cool having them there, they haven't been to many rounds this year. It was really good to get a win in front of them, and Jilly took the teams' trophy as well which was awesome.

"DJ's been real vocal within our walls that he wants to see the team back up the front and winning races, and obviously we've had a really good year for race wins and whatnot.

"But it was really good to win a race in front of them, and obviously at Ipswich as well which has got a straight named after him was really, really cool, so really glad to have them there for that."

Upon the announcement of his signing in 2024, Johnson proclaimed that Kostecki's signing was key to the team's mission of "returning to the top", and Kostecki is far better placed than he was last year to complete the mission.

At the completion of the Sprint Cup, Kostecki has six more wins than he did at the same time last year, as well as a staggering 14 more podiums, and some 602 more points - almost two weekend's worth of points.

Kostecki could be even better placed after the Ryco Enduro Cup, going into the AirTouch 500 at The Bend as the inaugural winner of the event in 2025 alongside Todd Hazelwood.

The duo will be one of the favoured pairings heading into the opening enduro, to be held from September 11-13. Tickets are on sale now.

Repco Sprint Cup comparison: Brodie Kostecki