Rising V8 Supercars star Michael Caruso locked in bidding war

MICHAEL Caruso is locked in a bidding war with Ford and Nissan as both manufacturers battle to snare the rising star away from Holden.

Michael Caruso

MICHAEL Caruso is set to become V8 Supercars' next half-a-million dollar man, with both Ford and Nissan vying to snare the rising star away from Holden.

Leading the list of off-contract V8 stars, Caruso is the most sought-after man in pit-lane and is being hunted by both Ford Performance Racing and soon to be a Nissan outfit, Kelly Racing.

Arguably the most talented and charismatic driver on the open market with a limited list up for renewal, Caruso is in line to triple his wage should he opt to follow in the footsteps of Lee Holdsworth and leave the Garry Rogers Motorsport stable.

FPR boss Tim Edwards, who will run a four-car team next year with Charlie Schwerkolt bringing his licence to the powerful stable, admitted Caruso was high in the list to join Mark Winterbottom, Will Davison and David Reynolds and score the prized drive.

"I believe Michael is one of the names that is being discussed," Edwards said.

"He is up there put it is quite funny at the moment because you can work out who they are by talking to Will and Frosty. They are the blokes that have all of sudden become their best friends.

"But that isn't far wrong."

Caruso, a one-time race winner, said his future was far from being sorted.

The Sydney-born driver linked with Rogers in 2008 and has twice finished 11th in the championship following a stellar junior career that included a Formula Three Australian title in 2003.

It is understood he will command as much as $500,000 year.

"Nothing is yet to be decided," Caruso said.

"I have had a great time with Gary and this is a great team, but I am off-contract and have to have a look at all my options.

"At the end of the day, I need to be in the car which will give me the best opportunity to win races and I need to have a long hard look at things.

"I am in no hurry, and will sit down with Garry and talk about things when the time is right."

Caruso has held informal talks with both Schwerkolt and the Kelly Racing Team, who will enter four cars with new manufacturer Nissan next year.

The futures of Karl Reindler and Greg Murphy at the Victorian-based team remain undecided.

With all three FPR cars entrenched in the top 10, the Ford seat will be hotly contested.

Edwards said he would have a role in determining the driver with the ultimate decision left to championship winning owner Schwerkolt, who returns to the series following a season in the wilderness.

"Charlie and I will work on it together,'' Edwards said.

"We need someone that will compliment the other three. We have a good trio there at the moment and the fourth person, not just from a performance point of view but also a cultural point of view, need to fit into our team.

"We don't want someone that is not going to gel with the other three. The other three are all completely different characters, but they get on well. They respect each other and that is an important part.

"You don't want that messed up. I mean, Will and Frosty race each other and swap a lot of paint, but they respect each other."