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The 29-year-old joined a rare club in achieving his maiden Supercars Championship race win in the biggest race of them all, the Bathurst 1000.
His reaction to the victory as co-driver for Brodie Kostecki at Erebus Motorsport was a mix of disbelief and pure elation. On Sunday night, there was also time for reflection.
“I’ve probably had a bit more of a unique journey to the top step of the Mountain than other people,” he said understatedly. “But everyone’s got their own stories.
“It’s certainly well documented that my family, particularly my mum, my dad and my sister, we worked our backsides off in our junior category years.
“We cooked countless sausages and we’ve had a lot of lot of members over the years that have helped pitch in, lots of fans, sponsors… there’s so many people.”
As Hazelwood alludes, his rise through karting, Formula Ford, F3 and Super2 was made possible by a relentless dedication to fundraising outside of regular sponsorships.
He sold chocolates at school to help pay for his karting. Later there were diligently organised fundraising dinners and the somewhat famous sausage sizzles.
Plonked outside Mitre 10 stores around his native Adelaide, they were orchestrated by Hazelwood and his hugely committed parents, Russell and Sharon.
Not that spending all those weekends twirling the tongs marked his family’s biggest sacrifice.
“They mortgaged the house to get my kickstart in Supercars,” he revealed. “So to win the Great Race is probably a nice return.”
Hazelwood’s very first Super2 outing in 2013 came as a prize for winning the Shannons Supercars Showdown – a reality TV show designed to unearth new talent.
It was a rare leg up in the Hazelwood story of hard work and hustle.
Hazelwood won the Super2 title in 2017 but then spent six largely fruitless years in the Supercars main game, scoring a single pole and podium without a win.
“I hate that stat having numerous rounds and starts with no win, that was certainly burning in the back of my mind,” he admitted.
Losing his full-time ride at the end of 2023, it appeared in some ways that Hazelwood’s big dream was over.
But as is the case in modern Supercars racing, the career crossroads afforded him the opportunity to take aim at the top step as a co-driver.
Hazelwood was lightning fast at last month’s Sandown 500 but tried a little too hard, puncturing a tyre when he butted heads with the GOAT, Jamie Whincup.
At Bathurst, Hazelwood defied anyone who had dared suggest he didn’t have the on-track discipline to win the Great Race with a sublime performance.
“I knew we had a fast car, we knew it was strong over the race runs, so I just stuck to my guns. You’ve just got to be robotic in those situations,” he said.
“We were good at our driver changes. The car was good over a long stint. It was just head down, bum up, look forward, don’t look backwards, and we were able to get the job done.”
The performance repaid Erebus’ belief in the likeable Supercars journeyman, as well as the faith Hazelwood had maintained in himself through the countless setbacks.
“I’ve never, ever doubted myself,” he said. “There are probably a few doubters out there, but that’s OK, we always get that.
“Walking away from being full-time last year, a big motivation was to surround myself with good people that I knew I could win races with.
“I’d rather have a chance of winning two races a year, as opposed to having 12 rounds of frustration. And I certainly feel like I’ve been able to vindicate that decision.”
Hazelwood’s 2024 has been less than straightforward. It’s easy to forget that he signed up with Erebus to be Jack Le Brocq’s co-driver in car #9.
He was then thrust in to replace Kostecki at the start of the season, bringing the squad a stand-in sponsor amid an exodus of Erebus’ former partners.
Hazelwood’s tenue as a primary driver at Erebus ultimately lasted two rounds before the reigning champion’s sudden and miraculous return.
Amid the turmoil, Kostecki’s contracted co-driver David Russell elected to jump ship to PremiAir Racing, opening the door for Hazelwood to share car #1.
Ex-housemates Kostecki and Hazelwood are in many ways chalk and cheese. But together, the tech savvy star and the former sausage salesman conquered the Mountain.
“In my mind, there was no other person that I wanted to team up with at the Great Race,” said Hazelwood of Kostecki.
“I know how hard he works behind the scenes. He’s so methodical with car set up. He’s so smart. He’s just as good an engineer as a driver, and that’s why he’s on the top step today.
“It’s a privilege to be part of it.”
