While Jamie Whincup insists he’s content to remain in V8 Supercars, Dick Johnson would like to see the now six-time champion follow Marcos Ambrose’s lead in searching for a new challenge.

Whincup reset the all-time Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercars Championship title record on Saturday at Phillip Island, moving clear of five-time champs Johnson, Ian Geoghegan and Mark Skaife.

The 31-year-old Whincup continues to be firmly dedicated to V8 Supercars and his Triple Eight team, resisting the temptation to test his mettle in other categories overseas.

Ambrose by contrast made the leap into the cut-throat NASCAR leagues following V8 glory in 2003 and 2004, forging a nine-year career in America that will conclude this weekend.

While many are looking forward to seeing Ambrose, driving for the new Dick Johnson Racing/Team Penske joint venture, go head-to-head with Whincup upon his return to Australia, Johnson hopes to one day see Whincup step into the unknown.

“It’d be good to see him (Whincup) challenge himself by doing something different,” Johnson told Speedcafe.com.

“He’s done a bloody good job here and it’s up to him; if he’s satisfied doing this, then that’s his call.

“But Marcos left after he’d won two championships because he wanted to challenge himself even further.

“I’m sure he would have won more (V8 Supercars Championships) by now too if he’d stayed here.”

Johnson himself tackled part-time NASCAR campaigns in 1989 and 1990, trekking to the US for seven Winston Cup races aboard Ross Palmer-backed Ford Thunderbirds.

“It gives you a greater perspective of the difficulty of different disciplines,” he explained of heading overseas.

“NASCAR is extremely difficult, there’s a lot of very good people there and only a handful of very good teams.”

Ironically, the NASCAR sojourn almost certainly cost Johnson a sixth ATCC title in 1990 as the distraction proved detrimental to his local Sierra effort.

Regardless of total championship trophies, Johnson believes it’s impossible to accurately compare drivers across different eras.

“When I was winning championships I was working on the car, building the engines, fixing gearboxes and driving the truck,” he said.

“It was a totally different discipline and really a different job then to what it is now.

“That’s why you can’t say anyone is the greatest of all time, because the requirements are different.

“You’ve got to remember as well that not any one thing wins championships, it’s a combination of everything,” he added.

“Jamie is obviously with the best team and with the best equipment and the best budget.

“He’s done a magnificent job behind the wheel and deserves to win the championship, because the whole package is the best out there.

“(But) there are a number of drivers up and down pitlane that with the same support could probably come up with the goods.”

With Whincup seemingly bonded to V8 Supercars as closely as ever, the battle between the Triple Eight Holden driver and a DJR Team Penske Ford-mounted Ambrose appears set to be a major drawcard over the coming years.

“It’ll be interesting to see how that goes,” said Johnson of the battle.

“You can’t pre-empt these things, but hopefully by 2016 we’ll be a team that can seriously challenge Triple Eight for the championship.”