The most unexpected Supercars storylines of 2025 so far
The 2025 Repco Supercars Championship has been full of dramatic storylines, as the Repco Sprint Cup spiced up the early portion of the season.
Even before cars hit the track at Sydney Motorsport Park in February, there were seismic shifts in the Supercars world, with the 2026 grid set to have a very different look to it.
But before then, there is a championship to be won this year, and the on-track action has been spectacular, with plenty of storylines to emerge from what has at times been a frantic Sprint Cup.
Supercars.com takes a look at some of the craziest stories to emerge from 2025 so far, in chronological order.
Triple Eight moves to Ford
A seismic shift in the Supercars world happened weeks before the season even began, with Triple Eight announcing their bombshell move to Ford on January 31. It marked a return to the Blue Oval for the Banyo squad, who had joined the championship with Ford midway through 2003 before leaving for General Motors and Holden at the end of 2009. It will be a new-look field in 2026, with Walkinshaw Andretti United becoming the Toyota homologation team, whilst Team 18 have been appointed as the new Chevrolet factory team.
Sydney goes off in wild second race
It took just two races for the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship to explode into life with one of the greatest races in Australian Touring Car Championship history. A dominant Cam Waters was on the comeback trail, with Tickford having decided on an aggressive strategy with pace to burn. When he caught Broc Feeney with four laps to go, what followed was one of the most enthralling battles in recent memory. Collisions, spins, redressing, Will Brown almost pouncing, dust thrown, and at the end just 0.03s was the difference, the second-closest finish in history, and the closest since 1983.
Love parts ways with Blanchard Racing Team
After a bruising rookie campaign, Aaron Love's second season got off to the worst possible start when he collided with teammate James Courtney in qualifying at Sydney. Having finished last in points in 2024, the pressure was already mounting on the under-fire Western Australian, and both Love and BRT agreed to part ways ahead of the second round at the Australian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old has returned to racing under the tutelage of two-time Supercars champion Marcos Ambrose in Trans Am, but won't feature in Supercars again this year, with all co-drives locked away.
Percat and Brown collide in pit lane
One of the more unusual incidents of the season to date, tensions boiled over in Friday practice in Tasmania when Nick Percat nailed the rear of Will Brown's Camaro at pit entry in final practice. Brown applied the brakes, and Percat carried on with it, leaving the rear bumper assembly of the #1 Camaro completely deranged. Although Percat proclaimed there was no intention or malice, he was slapped with a $3000 dollar fine for reckless driving.
Double DJR DSQ
It was a torrid Tasmanian weekend for Dick Johnson Racing, only made worse by a double disqualification from the opening race of the event. Suspicions arose over their front skid blocks after the morning's qualifying session, though the team successfully argued it was natural wear, however when the skid blocks again garnered attention in post-race scrutineering, further investigations were conducted. It was found that the wear on the skid blocks were not from natural wear, and both Brodie Kostecki (eighth) and Will Davison (21st) were disqualified from the opener.
BJR announced as second Toyota team
The huge announcement of Toyota entering Supercars in 2026 with Walkinshaw Andretti United was massive news, and left intrigue as a second team was yet to be determined. The initial announcement revealed there would be a minimum of four GR Supras on the grid next year, with several teams among the rumour mill to join WAU with the Japanese giant. Brad Jones Racing emerged as a strong favourite in the weeks leading up to Tasmania, with the announcement made that BJR would maintain their business model, and run four Toyotas from 2026. It will be a remarkably even manufacturer split in 2026, with 10 Ford Mustangs, eight Chevrolet Camaros, and six GR Supras.
Second photo finish in four rounds
Feeney found himself at the centre of another grandstand finish at the conclusion of a wild weekend in Tasmania, however this time he was the hunter, not the hunted. Penrite Racing's Matt Payne attempted to stretch his final tyre stint to 48 laps, whilst Feeney was absolutely flying on tyres that had not even done half of what Payne's had done. When Feeney arrived on Payne's bumper, it seemed a mere formality that the #88 would blaze on by, but Payne defended mightily when it mattered most, and held on by just 0.055s to claim his third win in six races.
Finals tension explodes in Perth
The pressure to break into the Finals bubble had been largely a quiet background story through the opening four events of the Repco Sprint Cup, however the Sunday finale in Perth saw several contenders all strike dramas. Cameron Hill's Camaro didn't fire on the grid, Anton De Pasquale's alternator packed up late, and most notably, Ryan Wood and James Golding came to blows in one of the most controversial moments of the season. The Finals picture swung dramatically across 83 laps in Race 16, and was a sign of things to come across the remaining sprint events.
Chaotic Darwin restart
In a wild start to proceedings in Darwin, after a Safety Car restart, Ryan Wood pulled to the left with engine issues. The slowing Wood backed up the field, seeing Jack Le Brocq sent into the wall by Cameron Hill. Will Brown also sustained damage, with Le Brocq and Wood stopping on the run to Turn 1. It was a crazy start to what would prove a crazy race, with Le Brocq pitched into the wall at almost 200km/h.
Hill/Bates spills over in Ipswich
Hill was at the centre of more drama last time out in Ipswich, as his Finals bid continued to unravel. Having dropped out of the top 10 by virtue of a freak brake failure in Townsville, the Matt Stone Racing driver didn't take too kindly to wildcard debutant Zach Bates as he muscled by at Turn 6. Hill ran into the reigning Super2 champion not once but twice on the Dick Johnson Straight, forcing Bates off the road. Hill was sent tumbling down the order as well, receiving both a pit lane penalty and the ire of team owner Stone.
Lowndes joins Team 18
Triple Eight's shock defection left several questions to be answered, one of which was what would the future of Craig Lowndes hold? Lowndes has been a long-time GM ambassador, but has also been a staple of the Triple Eight fraternity since 2005. The answer would come in March, the seven-time Bathurst winner would remain loyal to the brand that launched him to superstardom in the 1990s. When Team 18 was announced as GM's homologation team in waiting, it revealed Lowndes' latest Supercars home, with the Supercheap Auto wildcard program to continue at Team 18 for at least two years. At 51 years old, Lowndes' latest home could very well be his last in Supercars.
