The kids are alright: The Supercars generation shift coming in 2026

The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship grid will go through an unprecedented level of change to the field that last raced in Adelaide.

Five rookies will be on the grid fighting for rookie of the year honours throughout the 14 round, 37 race campaign across Australia and New Zealand, and they step into the shoes of some of the biggest names of the sport in recent years.

Supercars.com takes a look at the big generation shift coming in 2026.

Who won't return in 2026?

All told, six drivers who were on the full-time grid will not return in 2026, with James Courtney, Will Davison, and Nick Percat all announcing their retirements from full-time driving.

With 45-year-old Courtney, 43-year-old Davison, and 37-year-old Percat pulling up stumps on their full-time careers, the grid will take on a vastly different complexion in 2026.

The three drivers above were the oldest, second-oldest, and fourth-oldest drivers on the grid in 2025, accounting for 1589 combined race starts, 43 race wins, 166 podiums, three Bathurst wins, and one championship.

That's not to say they weren't on top of their game when they had their chances this year. All three drivers added to their podium tallies in their final full-time seasons.

Another to add to their podium tally was Bryce Fullwood, who claimed Brad Jones Racing's first podium of the season in Tasmania. The 2019 Super2 champion currently faces an uncertain future, having been unable to secure a full-time drive.

Another driver currently in the wilderness is 2023 Bathurst winner Richie Stanaway, who left PremiAir Racing with two rounds remaining, whilst Jaxon Evans will move from SCT Motorsport to a co-drive at Walkinshaw Andretti United.

Who are the rookies?

Five rookies will enter the Repco Supercars Championship in 2026, namely Rylan Gray, Zach Bates, Jobe Stewart, Jackson Walls, and Jayden Ojeda.

19-year-old Gray, who hails from the NSW Hunter Valley, becomes Brodie Kostecki's new teammate at Dick Johnson Racing, and has been a highly-touted prospect within Ford's stable, winning in both Super2 and GT4 ranks in Mustangs.

Unlike his father Rick, uncle Neal, and cousins Harry and Lewis, 21-year-old Bates has taken the circuit racing route over the rallying scene, and will partner veteran Jack Le Brocq at Matt Stone Racing.

21-year-old Stewart is the latest success story of the Erebus Academy, and having stunned in his Enduro Cup debut alongside Cooper Murray, gets his shot at the main game with the team that has been with him from karting.

Born in Sydney, 22-year-old Walls will make his debut on home soil at Sydney Motorsport Park, and scored a plum drive in the Triple Eight-prepared SCT Mustang after a solid rookie season in Triple Eight's Super2 program.

That leaves 26-year-old Ojeda, who has taken a unique path to Supercars having fallen just short in both Super3 and Super2, losing out to Broc Feeney on both occasions. Ojeda has since carved a reputation on the global GT3 scene.

Why you should be excited about the rookie class of 2026

The Dunlop Super2 Series has proven to be the best proving ground for young talent to prove their worth to Supercars teams, and all five rookies have runs on the board in the development series.

Gray and Bates are the last two Super2 champions, Gray dominating this year in the all-conquering Tickford program, and Bates finishing on top in a last weekend showdown with current full-timers Aaron Cameron and Kai Allen in 2024.

Stewart brings Super2 race-winning pedigree to the main game, having claimed a dominant 13-second victory in the opening race of the Repco Bathurst 1000 support event last year.

The same goes for Walls, who won both Race 2 and Round 4 at Ipswich, and was on course for rookie of the year honours before a mechanical failure pitched him into a season-ending accident in Adelaide practice.

The only driver who doesn't have any wins in Super2 is Ojeda, who has a 50% podium strike rate in his two seasons of Super2, claiming rookie honours in 2020 and finishing third in 2021.

However, where Stewart and Ojeda really shone was the Ryco Enduro Cup this year, with both impressing at The Bend, before being involved in near-race winning campaigns at Bathurst alongside Cooper Murray and Ryan Wood respectively.

Bates was also impressive in his wildcard debut at Ipswich, qualifying fifth for the finale, whilst Gray's Tickford wildcard finished line astern with the team's two full-time entries on a wild day at Bathurst.

All five have proven they're more than willing to put up a fight, with four of them having experienced the main game in either wildcard or co-driver starts, and none putting a foot wrong.

With the runs all five have on the board, don't be surprised if they establish themselves as some of the top names in the sport in the years to come.