One of Supercars’ worst kept secrets has finally been confirmed: Broc Feeney will join Red Bull Ampol Racing next year in place of the outgoing Jamie Whincup.

The Gold Coaster will be team-mate to Shane van Gisbergen at the Banyo-based squad, becoming the youngest driver to have raced full-time for Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Feeney’s rise to the Repco Supercars Championship has been nothing short of meteoric, joining one of the category’s most successful teams at just 18 years old.

His promotion to the main game comes amid a shake-up which will see Whincup move into the role of team principal while incumbent Roland Dane will step back into an advisory role.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for me to be replacing ‘The GOAT’, Jamie Whincup. It’s so surreal for me at the moment, but I think it will start to kick in at the start of next year,” he said.

“To be aligned with this amazing team in my Super2 season and to be promoted into the main series is a dream come true. To be honest, I always wanted to get to Supercars, but to be behind the wheel of a Red Bull Ampol Racing machine is pretty exciting.

“The Super2 season has been a very important year for me. I knew at the start of the year that there was an opportunity to replace Jamie, and it all depended on how my results went this year. To get four out of six wins this season and winning two out of three rounds has been a great opportunity for me, and this now feels like a big reward.

“When Roland told me the news I was in shock. He explained everything to me and basically asked how it sounded – I said it sounded bloody awesome! I got out of that meeting and rang my parents straight away. It was such a big relief as we’ve all put in so much effort the last few years, and it’s a day I’ll never forget

“It’s such a good place for me to be, considering I’m a rookie coming into the Supercars series. To have the drivers that I’m surrounded by and the knowledge they have is a great opportunity. For the short eight months I’ve been with the team, I’ve learnt so much and I cannot wait to learn more in the next few years.

“My focus at the moment is winning the Super2 championship, and then we’ll set some goals for next year. It is hard to have expectations at the moment going into next season, but I just want to have a consistent year and learn as much as I can. Everyone says the rookie year is the toughest, but I’m looking forward to having a good and consistent year.”

Feeney has quickly climbed to the pinnacle of Australian touring car racing.

After several years racing and winning in karts, Feeney graduated to cars, predominantly plying his trade in Hyundai Excels.

In 2018 he stepped up to the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series where he was twice a winner and three times a podium finisher in a season where he claimed sixth overall.

The 2019 season saw Feeney take his first sizeable step towards Supercars.

Under the wing of Norwell Motorplex boss and former Supercars team owner Paul Morris, the Gold Coast youngster won the Super3 Series in his rookie season.

In that season he claimed one win and 12 podiums in the 15-race season.

In what was a COVID-19 disrupted 2020, Feeney contested just the three Super2 Series rounds with Tickford Racing where he finished seventh overall but showed plenty of promise.

His season culminated in a Bathurst 1000 start on his 18th birthday with James Courtney, driving their Boost Mobile-backed Ford Mustang to 10th on debut.

In 2021, Feeney was brought into the Triple Eight Race Engineering camp where he has taken the Super2 Series by storm.

Of the six races thus far, Feeney has won four of them in the #888 Holden VF Commodore, to hold a comfortable points lead.

Feeney also drove for Triple Eight in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS with Prince Jefri Ibrahim of Johor at The Bend Motorsport Park in May.

He’s due to make his first Supercars Championship start with Triple Eight in this year’s Bathurst 1000, partnering Russell Ingall in a Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard, before graduating to full-time status in 2022.