'People looked at what I did': How Dane triggered youth rush

Roland Dane will tell you that the current Supercars youth movement truly began on Sunday December 4, 2022.

For it was on that day, in the 34th and final race of a 2022 season dominated by Shane van Gisbergen, that a fresh-faced 20-year-old named Broc Feeney well and truly came of age.

It was already a solid enough rookie year for the defending Super2 champion, claiming two podiums as he took the reins of the famous #88 from a retiring Jamie Whincup.

However, he well and truly saved his best until last, finding himself in the catbird seat to claim his first career win, but looming large in his mirrors was Chaz Mostert, a renowned street circuit master.

In a 30-lap fight to the finish against the man who had won just 24 hours earlier, Feeney held his own to claim an emotional maiden Supercars race win.

It's worth noting that Erebus Motorsport had undergone a successful rebuild spearheaded by rookies Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki — then aged just 22 and 23 — the year prior, the pair claiming a race win and a Bathurst podium between them in their rookie year.

But Triple Eight and Dane's insistence on promoting 19-year-old Feeney was unheard of for a team of their prestige and standing, and when Feeney drove the race of his life to get the chequered flag, the writing was on the wall.

Penrite Racing promoted Matt Payne the following season, who went on to replicate Feeney's Adelaide heroics, before giving Kai Allen his big break last year, which was repaid with a run to the Grand Final.

Meanwhile, Feeney went on a generational run in 2025, claiming a record-breaking 19 poles and 14 wins, but cruelly missing out on the championship. Despite being only 23, many consider him the benchmark in Supercars.

2026 has seen a tidal wave of young blood enter the sport, with rookies Rylan Gray, Zach Bates, Jobe Stewart, Jayden Ojeda, and Jackson Walls combining for an average age of just 22.

Indeed, the grid for the opening race of the season at Sydney Motorsport Park was the youngest ever assembled for a Supercars race, smashing the previous record set at the same venue in 2008 by two years and 38 days.

Some of the rookies have already made a statement early in the season, Bates qualifying inside the top eight for all three races in Sydney, and Ojeda snaring his first top 10 finish of the season in the Melbourne finale.

Having contributed to the youthful grid by signing 26-year-old Ojeda nad 25-year-old Fraser to his PremiAir Racing revolution, Dane is surprised that it has taken four years since Feeney's full-time debut for there to be such a major shift.

"I think it's about time. I think there's been too much of holding onto to drivers for too long and not taking a punt on younger talent," Dane told Supercars.com.

“Broc won the final race of his first season. Matt Payne did the same. Kai Allen got into the Grand Final in his first season.

“If that doesn't tell people that there’s talent out there, nothing will. In the average situation, people have got to have a couple of years to try and show their mettle. That's why I think Declan was hard done by.

“Even Cam Hill only really started to blossom in his third year and show his true ability.

"Declan deserves another chance, and it's up to him what he does with it as long as we give him the right equipment.”

Having honed his craft in global GT circles since being a Super2 frontrunner at the turn of the decade, Ojeda earned his long-awaited full-time opportunity after starring in the enduros for several seasons.

Fraser meanwhile, having impressed Dane mightily when he won the 2022 Super2 title for Triple Eight, was also tapped on the shoulder by his former boss, and returned to full-time duties after two years of co-driving.

Already the pair have picked up some encouraging results, with Ojeda also topping the opening practice session in Melbourne and leading the rookies in the points standings in 16th, whilst Fraser has been a consistent threat to the top 10 in races.

Dane added: “They're both similar but different. They’ve both been around the block a couple of times now, albeit they haven’t had a proper crack of Supercars.

“Declan’s rookie year was very compromised by being in a fourth car in a team that was looking to downsize. That was hard for him, and I don't think it reflected his abilities properly, hence giving him an opportunity here where he hasn't got to worry about money. He can focus fully on being a driver.

“Jayden's been on my radar for many years. He's somebody who's highly capable, just hasn't been in the right place at the right time to score a Supercars full-time drive. He's shown over several years now at a co-driver level, how good he is, and the potential he has.”