Adelaide Supercars organizers reveal NASCAR plan with Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota drivers

Australian Supercar organisers are hoping to have NASCAR drivers from Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota compete in Adelaide.

Mark Warren, CEO of the South Australian Motorsport Board, recently confirmed the ambitions to add wildcard entries from each manufacturer. However, only one NASCAR OEM has locked in so far. Team Penske's Austin Cindric will drive a Tickford Racing Ford Mustang at the inaugural Adelaide Grand Final in November.

Supercars team Triple Eight, which used to field Chevy entries, will not help with the Supercars wildcard because the team is switching to Ford. So, Supercars officials have spoken with General Motors about a Chevrolet wildcard, possibly with Connor Zilisch. They also hope to include a Toyota driver in future years.

"Our ultimate ambition is to have a wildcard driver from each of the manufacturers involved in NASCAR; Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet. We've now got the Ford driver. It would be fantastic to have a Chevrolet driver and also a Toyota driver in future years," Warren told Speedcafe.

They tried before to get Kyle Busch in 2024 and Kyle Larson this year, but both efforts failed. Warren added that timing makes things hard, as the Adelaide event clashes with Thanksgiving.

"Not all of the NASCAR drivers can make it because they have family commitments, but we’ll keep trying and see who we can get here," Warren said.

During their podcast, Lucky Dogs, former Supercars teammates Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki had also talked about the possibility of Zilisch's wildcard entry to Adelaide.

Brown said he had heard whispers of the NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie, who drives JR Motorsports' No. 88 Chevy, doing a wildcard entry in Supercars during his trip to the US. However, nothing has been confirmed as of now.

Supercar drivers fail to match Shane van Gisbergen's success in NASCAR

Since Shane van Gisbergen's NASCAR Cup Series win at the debut street course race in 2023, more and more Supercar drivers are taking a chance to make it in the series. Will Brown, the 2024 Supercars champion, made his Cup start with Richard Childress Racing last season at Sonoma. He returned to take part in the Chicago Street Course this year with Kaulig Racing and also made his Xfinity debut with the team at the 2025 Pacific Office Automation in Portland.

However, Brown has not seen the same success as three-time Supercars champion and New Zealand native Van Gisbergen. Brown was placed 31st at the 1.99-mile Samona road course last year and completed only two laps at Chicago after being in an early crash.

39-year-old Supercar driver Jack Perkins also raced with Joe Gibbs Racing this year at Chicago and Portland, but suffered the same outcome. He ended both races outside the top-30.