The stars of the Repco Australian Supercars championship, which concluded this past weekend, are heading to the U.S. for a series of new racing commitments.
The final weekend of racing, on Adelaide’s two-miles street circuit, saw Brodie Kostecki claim the 28-race series at the wheel of the Erebus Motorsports/Coca Cola Chevrolet Camaro.
The opportunity for Shane van Gisbergen to claim the title evaporated when the New Zealander hit the disabled Will Brown car in the first lap of the penultimate race in the series.
Kostecki, 26, finished sixth to the Monster Energy Racing Ford Mustang driver, Cameron Waters, to gain an unbeatable points lead with the second of the two Adelaide races to complete the championship.
Kostecki will join Richard Childress Racing for a series of forthcoming U.S. races.
He has yet to commit to a full-time move to NASCAR after winning his maiden Supercars Championship. “I’m going to take it as it comes,” he said, “but I have plenty of unfinished business here first.”
Kostecki grabbed the pole for the final race of the series after running from seventh on the shootout.
However, Kostecki lost the charge to rookie Matthew Payne into the first turn of the final championship race. Driving the Penrite Racing Ford Mustang, the 21-year old from Auckland, New Zealand, effectively led the entire race to defeat Triple Eight Engineering’s Broc Feeney in the Red Bull Ampol Chevrolet Camaro.
Van Gisbergen’s weekend continued to disappoint on the second day, suffering ongoing steering problems after a race incident that lead to further pit stops. Although he ran as high as fourth placing in the race, after coming from 15th, the multiple-time champion finished his Supercars career not completing the final race.
Having finished his final season down under, Van Gisbergen heads to the U.S. for his new development deal with NASCAR Cup Series team, Trackhouse Racing.