Whincup not shutting the door on racing 'ever again'
Jamie Whincup not shutting the door on driving "ever again"
2026 the first time since 2001 that Whincup won’t be on grid as full-timer or co-driver
Nick Percat to race with Broc Feeney for 2026, 2027 enduros
One of the biggest changes heading into 2026 regards Jamie Whincup, who for the first time since 2001, is set to be absent from a Supercars grid, be it as a full-timer or co-driver.
Announced towards the end of 2025, Whincup confirmed he "will not be driving a Red Bull Ampol Racing race car in the 2026 or 2027 Enduros.”
It came as the newly retired Nick Percat signed on alongside Broc Feeney, with Scott Pye returning with Will Brown for a third season. Percat and Pye are understood to have inked two-year deals through 2027.
The Triple Eight-run SCT Logistics Ford will be raced by rookie Jackson Walls, meanwhile, with veteran co-driver Jack Perkins tipped to join for the enduros.
Amid speculation over his future, key to the announcement was Whincup stopping short at a retirement call, even after 24 years in the seat.
“I’m not saying Bathurst [2025] was my last race in a Supercar,” the 125-time race winner said at the time.
"At this stage I will not be driving a Red Bull Ampol Racing race car in the 2026 or 2027 Enduros, and right now have no other plans but to continue to be a better Managing Director.
"I'm not shutting the door on driving ever again, it’s not something to read anything into either, right now have no other plans than Managing Director of Triple Eight and I’m looking forward to putting everything into that.”
As has been the case since he bought into Triple Eight in 2018, Whincup’s decision was team-first. That includes stepping aside at the end of 2021, at age 38, to get Feeney into the fray.
Whincup's contemporaries Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander continued to co-drive well into their 40s, with James Courtney and Will Davison now transitioning into co-driving in their mid-40s.
If he returns in 2028, Whincup would be 45, the age Lowndes was when he won the Sandown 500 and Gold Coast 600 alongside Whincup. Tander, meanwhile, won his sixth Bathurst 1000 at age 48 last year.
Feeney himself told Supercars.com that the team thought "we might be able to get another year out of him,” before reiterating that “he's such a busy guy now and he's trying to focus on the business, and he doesn't want one to affect the other or vice versa.”
It was a point Whincup made clear in the announcement, with the four-time Bathurst winner set on his team boss role amid a busy period for Ford-bound Triple Eight.
"Since starting my Triple Eight Race Engineering ownership back in 2018, I have always said I will continue to drive the car as long as the management team and I feel like I'm the best person for the job,” the Supercars Hall of Famer said.
"In 2021 it was clear that Broc Feeney was ready to debut in Supercars and needed a break to get in. This allowed me to move into the team's Managing Director role which I'm continuing to love while striving to improve and be the best I can be there.”
