Dick Johnson Racing will celebrate its 500th championship round in Supercars/Australian Touring Cars at this weekend’s Vailo Adelaide 500.

To mark the occasion, the heritage Queensland squad’s Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustangs will don special motifs which hark back to Dick Johnson’s iconic 1981 Tru-Blu XD Falcon (See gallery below) and a ‘Celebrating 500 Rounds’ message on the roofline.

DJR debuted at Symmons Plains in 1981 and has gone on to win 10 drivers’ championships, three teams’ championships, and four Bathurst 1000s.

Johnson himself said, “I’m really proud of the fact that we’re the only team who has ever chalked up 500 Championship Rounds.

“Sure, we’ve been around a long time to do so, but I don’t think anyone is going to pass us anytime soon, because I’m not finished yet!

“To see our team grow to what it has today is something that I am exceptionally proud of.

“To be quite honest though, a team consists of many people, and we’ve had many important people as part of DJR throughout the years; but the one person who has been consistent throughout the whole time has been [wife] Jillie, I couldn’t have done it without her.”

DJR, the oldest team on the Repco Supercars Championship grid, was also the first to 1000 race starts, at last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

Anton De Pasquale is currently eighth in the championship and team-mate Will Davison 11th ahead of this weekend’s Vailo Adelaide 500 season finale.