Supercars’ new active leader in key stats

MEET Supercars’ new leader among active full-timers in several prestigious statistical columns… Mark Winterbottom.

For the first time in his decorated career, ‘Frosty’ is the most winningest driver in the current field.

That’s been made possible by Shane van Gisbergen’s departure to NASCAR, the Kiwi having previously been the active leader in race wins (80), top three finishes (178) and pole positions (48).

Winterbottom takes over in all three lists, with 39 wins, 145 top threes and 36 poles to his name.

The records have routinely been held by Triple Eight drivers in the past decade, ever since Craig Lowndes surpassed Mark Skaife’s tallies in wins and top threes, during the first half of the 2013 season.

Jamie Whincup soon enough blasted by Lowndes before retiring at the end of 2021, which left van Gisbergen as the top dog in race wins and poles.

At that point, Winterbottom briefly did hold the lead in top threes (his 144 to SVG’s 140), only to be overtaken by Round 3 of the 2022 season.

Supercars is in the odd position of having a vacuum of champions on the grid, with one-time title winners Brodie Kostecki (2023), Winterbottom (2015) and James Courtney (2010) the only instances.

Eleven of the past 13 seasons have been won by either Whincup (retired as a full-timer), van Gisbergen (NASCAR) or Scott McLaughlin (IndyCar).

This season could well be Winterbottom’s last, too, with the 42-year-old’s Team 18 contract expiring at the end of 2024.

Winterbottom returned to his winning ways last year, delivering Team 18’s first victory at Hidden Valley.