Supercars Adelaide 500: Richard Childress targets 4-5 NASCAR races for Brodie Kostecki in 2024
A legend of NASCAR has set a huge target for Brodie Kostecki in 2024 and opened up on whether the Supercars star should make a permanent move to the US.
Supercars
Don't miss out on the headlines from Supercars. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Brodie Kostecki’s NASCAR connections want the Erebus star to return for as many as five races in the US next year with an eye to pursuing a career in the country.
Kostecki is preparing for a final-round showdown against rival Shane van Gisbergen in the battle for the Supercars championship crown.
NASCAR racing royalty will be trackside at the Adelaide 500 to watch Kostecki and plot a program for his US return.
Richard Childress, who owns the NASCAR team with whom Kostecki made his Cup Series debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in August, is en route to Adelaide.
Speaking from the US before flying out to Australia, Childress, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, said he planned to talk with potential sponsors to back a limited program for Kostecki around his Supercars schedule, including an appearance on an oval track.
Childress was confident Kostecki had the racing talent to pursue a full-time NASCAR career if he wanted to make the switch from Supercars.
“One of the reasons I am coming over is to possibly talk to a couple of the sponsors that were involved with us and see if we can get the sponsorship lined up and see if we can bring him over again,” Childress said.
“I would like to run him in at least four, maybe five (races). We have a few road courses but would like to also run him in an oval over here.
“That will see how he’s really doing, too. I know he can do road courses and street racing but we want to really run him on an oval. I think he will really be strong on an oval.
“Our whole deal is going to depend on his schedule in the Supercars series, what races that we can race him in.”
Childress’s trip to Australia comes amid a growing relationship between his Richard Childress Racing team and Erebus Motorsport.
Kostecki finished 22nd in his Cup Series debut at Indianapolis but Childress said he was capable of a lot more and could make it in NASCAR.
“I think if that’s what he wants to do, he could,” Childress said.
“I know he really loves Australia and he likes doing what he’s doing.
“He is a great spokesman for a sponsor and with his talent I think people will just like Brodie because he is going to be successful over here.
“We didn’t do that good a job for him (at Indianapolis). We had problems with the car before practice and it didn’t work out real good for him.
“We put him behind the eight-ball but ended up salvaging a pretty good day out of it.
“Brodie is a very talented young man, his personality is great and he fits well with our people back at the shop.”
Kostecki, who is under contract at Erebus until the end of next year, said he was excited at the prospect of returning to the US for more racing.
“It was quite exciting for me to go over and do that one race this year and he (Childress) is coming over to Adelaide so it will be cool for him to check out Supercar racing here in Australia,” Kostecki said.
“I’m looking forward to partnering up with him and everyone else at RCR for a few races next year.”
Asked about his longer-term ambitions in NASCAR, Kostecki said he still had goals to achieve in Supercars.
“I have some things I want to check off here in Australia first and I will worry about that later,” he said.
The first of those is securing the Supercars championship in Adelaide this weekend.
Kostecki has a 131-point lead over defending Supercars champion and Triple Eight rival van Gisbergen, who will be making his farewell to the series before his move to NASCAR next year.
The 25-year-old has been the most consistent performer in the championship with a season-high six race wins and eight pole positions.
While Kostecki is in prime position to claim his first championship, he said the job was not done.
“It would be pretty cool to do it but we’ll just see what happens,” Kostecki said.
“I’m not counting my chickens yet and we’ll just focus on one race at a time.
“There is another round left and two more trophies, so I’ll just focus on that and the rest will take care of itself.
“The teams’ championship is pretty important. It would be great to get that as well.”
Kostecki said he expected van Gisbergen to attack hard in his final round but would not be changing his own approach.
“I’m sure everyone will be attacking pretty hard,” Kostecki said.
“It is the last race of the year and everyone wants to end the season pretty strongly.
“It’s his last race as well before he heads off Stateside so I’m sure he will want to finish strongly.
“We just need to be consistent, like we have been all year. Just focus on trying to get the trophies and making sure the cars are fast.
“If the cars are fast, it makes our job a lot easier on Saturday and Sunday.
“There are still a lot of points there on offer in Adelaide, so we just have to make sure we are fast, I execute my job well and we minimise mistakes as much as possible.”
EMOTIONS RUN HIGH FOR EREBUS’ BULL FIGHTER
Will Brown will defect to rivals Triple Eight in less than two months, but he has first vowed to do all he can to help Erebus Motorsport triumph in its two-pronged title fight against its chief Supercars combatants at the season finale in Adelaide.
In what he expects to be an emotional farewell, Brown will suit up for his final round for Erebus at the Adelaide 500 ahead of his team switch in 2024 when he replaces the NASCAR-bound Shane van Gisbergen at the Red Bull squad.
The rival Supercars teams have been locked in a tense battle for both the drivers and the teams’ championships this season.
Brown’s Erebus teammate Brodie Kostecki is in prime position to take out the drivers’ title, sitting 131 points ahead of van Gisbergen, leading into this weekend’s final round.
Erebus also holds a 170-point lead over Triple Eight in its pursuit of a maiden Supercars teams’ championship.
Sitting third in the drivers championship, but now too far off Kostecki to challenge for the crown, Brown said he was focused on helping deliver the season prizes for Erebus in his farewell for the team.
“It’s definitely going to be an emotional weekend. It’s been a fantastic six years with Erebus, so it’s the end of the era in a way,” Brown said of his final round with the team.
“The goal is to try and win two races, we are going there to try and win and then hopefully we can help Erebus with the team’s championship.
“It’s been a bit of a battle back and forward all year between us (and Triple Eight), but hopefully we can hold on to it in the last round.
“I’m contracted to Erebus and I’m helping them out for the weekend.
“(Brodie) has done a fantastic job and he has been the most consistent driver for the whole year so he deserves to win the championship.
“As we can see every round, he is up there, putting it on pole (position) or right up the front. So it’s just that consistency that wins the championship.”
Brown himself was right in contention for this year’s championship, leading the standings mid-year before he was overtaken by Kostecki.
A rough weekend in the round at Tailem Bend when Kostecki claimed a clean sweep put a major dent in his title aspirations.
But the season is still set to deliver Brown his best result yet in the Supercars championship.
“It’s been a few ups and downs, more ups than downs I would say,” Brown said.
“We were doing great until mid-season and then we have just had a couple of tough rounds across the last three rounds, which has been a bit disappointing.
“But that’s part of motorsport, you never know when they’re going to come.”
In a shock move, Brown was confirmed as van Gisbergen’s replacement at Triple Eight in August on a three-year deal after Erebus agreed to release him from the final year of his contract.
It was a decision which Erebus Motorsport chief executive Barry Ryan said at the time had left him feeling “gutted” over the 25-year-old’s defection to the “enemy”.
Despite Ryan’s initial reaction, Brown said the rest of the season had not been as awkward as he had anticipated.
“To be honest, it has probably gone a lot better than I thought,” Brown said.
“Everyone has just gotten on with the job. We are all adults and we are all out there trying to get the same results for Erebus.
“It has been pretty normal actually.”
The Toowoomba pilot, who has claimed four race wins this year, will team up with young gun Broc Feeney at Triple Eight from next season.
While he was excited for his next move, Brown said it had been hard to cast an eye ahead while he was still in the thick of the on-track battles with Triple Eight this year.
“It’s one of those weird situations we’re in, where we are sort of battling each other for championships and teams’ championships,” Brown said.
“It’s sort of been one of those ones where I know what is happening next year, but right now we are concentrating on what’s ahead and then after the last round, the focus will obviously transition over to next year.
“I’m looking forward to getting over there and seeing how we go.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Supercars Adelaide 500: Richard Childress targets 4-5 NASCAR races for Brodie Kostecki in 2024
Supercars confirms finals shake up for 2025 season
Supercars has officially unveiled its ambitious plans to conduct a NASCAR-style finals format in 2025 that will ensure the championship title battle goes down to the last chequered flag.
NRL nightmare: F1 stars chased to steal Sydney thunder
The biggest names in world motorsport will be offered a chance to drive in a revolutionary racing event in Sydney, inadvertently leaving the NRL with a major headache at the start of the season.