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Erebus is actively pursuing NASCAR on behalf of Brodie Kostecki as it looks to create a pathway between Australia and the US.
There has been a burgeoning relationship between the Supercars squad and top NASCAR outfit Richard Childress Racing this year, facilitated by ex-Image Racing engineer Andrew Dickinson, who now works for RCR.
This year the partnership has included a fact-finding mission for a number of Erebus staff to the States, which included Kostecki taking part in a road course test in an ex-Image Commodore Supercar that was imported to the US by RCR.
Kostecki then ran for RCR at the Indianapolis road course round of the NASCAR Cup Series before Childress and Dickinson attended the Supercars season finale in Adelaide.
A week later an Erebus crew, led by CEO Barry Ryan and outgoing driver Will Brown, helped RCR run two Camaros at the World Racing League finale at the Circuit of the Americas.
While there were reports earlier this year that Erebus may look to run its own NASCAR programme in the future, Ryan clarified his Stateside plans in the Speedcafe Newscast earlier this week.
He explained that the intention is to strengthen ties with RCR and help pave the way for Kostecki to make a full-time move to NASCAR in the future.
That will the hopefully create an ongoing pathway that will help Erebus attract other talented young Aussie drivers who may have an eye on NASCAR.
“When you think about retaining drivers, if [we] want to retain Brodie for a couple more years… if he wants to stay in Australia, you want to keep him at Erebus,” said Ryan.
“So if he’s got that link where he knows he’s going to have some opportunities in NASCAR Cup – and if he ends up as a NASCAR Cup driver in two years or one year, we’ll be proud as punch. We’ll be happy to see him go. We won’t be happy to see him go to another Supercars team.
“So if that’s the whole journey that this creates, it attracts the next driver to Erebus after Brodie because he’s gone and done Cup, and we’ve still got the relationship with RCR, and we get the next best driver that’s in Supercars because they see this little carrot that we might be able to create – that’s awesome.
“And I might even come over here [to the US] one day and spend a five-year period doing NASCAR. I’d love to do that as well.”
For more from Barry Ryan, listen to the Speedcafe Newscast now.
