WHY DJR MUST WIN (AGAIN)

Two miserable years in the Supercars wasteland has triggered a multi-million dollar fightback plan at Stapylton in Queensland.

No-one is saying it openly, but there is a Penske feel to season 2025 at Dick Johnson Racing that includes everything from new cars and crew to the arrival of Brodie Kostecki in a repeat of the plan that saw Scott McLaughlin become a multiple Supercars champion.

The spending at DJR easily tops a Penske-style $2 million, but the big thing is a shift in attitude.

There has been a mass clean-out at DJR and, even with the outgoing workers often being eased into new jobs with minimal fuss or disruption, there are now clear consequences for anyone who fails.

This new approach is being led by Dr Ryan Story, the brilliant brainiac who was responsible for originally luring Roger Penske to DJR but also blames himself for the downturn that coincided with Penske’s exit and a series of personal health problems.

Billionaire sports fan Brett Ralph is the money man at DJR, and former North Melbourne coach David Noble is the CEO – with both at Sydney Motorsport Park for the official pre-season test – but it’s Story who is driving things for the upcoming season.

"We needed to face facts and flick the circuit breaker back on if we were going to be serious about it. We're not here to fuck spiders," Story told Race.news.

Story is not given to public swearing but it’s a sign of his commitment and his disappointment with recent results at DJR.

"It’s a fresh start. There is great energy in the place. A real sense of urgency and camaraderie that I haven’t seen or felt in there for a long time,”says Story

"A big part of that is people. We have been building toward this since I rejoined the team at the end of 2023.

Apart from Kostecki, and his great mate and engineering guru George Commins, the most obvious sign of change is the new cars that will carry fresh Shell V-Power colours into battle in 2025.

The DJR crew is building three cars, tapping a new source with the Erebus chassis supplier James White from Mount Gambier, as it winds down its previous deal with Pace Innovations on the Gold Coast.

Kostecki will start the season in a full Erebus car wearing #38 – Dick Johnson's very first racing number – while Will Davison will race the #17 using a Pace central chassis with Erebus front and rear clips.

Further into the future, the team will switch entirely and last year’s V-Power racers are up for sale – either to collectors or potential Super2 runners.

“We had a new Pace shell at the shop and, for logistical reasons, we will start the season with that built up as a new car, which will then become our fully-built-up spare later in the year for us as we bring online the second new chassis sourced from Erebus," says Story.

For him, the cars are a reflection of the changes at DJR's home base.

“It's always nice to roll out a new car. Good for driver confidence and presents an opportunity for us to clearly say this is a new chapter for us,” he says.

So, will the new cars be faster?

“No, not in real terms. But it stands to reason that install and fitment can be nicer and build processes can be more refined over time for sure.”

Story and DJR had a torrid time through 2024, including the disastrous V8 engine failures around the Sandown 500 and the frantic recovery program to ensure the cars could start and race at Bathurst.

Most recently, the team has been dropped as Ford’s official Homologation Team as Triple Eight has taken over the role.

But that one, at least, could be a positive as DJR has battled to balance the responsibilities of Gen3 car creation and parity testing with the work of a race team.

“Another part of that which cannot be discounted has been the ability to pour resources back into the race team from our responsibilities of being the Ford homologation team and engine supplier.

“Of course, we continue to take (that) very seriously but the significant progress that’s been made is undeniable.”

So the target is set and the action is about to begin.

“It was always about 2025 for us and how we can chip away to being genuine and consistent front runners once again.

"No one is pretending that it’s easy, it’s not, but the commitment from everyone in this team to that goal is outstanding. It’s exciting,” says Story.