Triple Eight will return to its Ford roots in 2026 courtesy of a bombshell deal to spearhead the Blue Oval’s Supercars program.

On the operational front, the shift should be mostly straightforward – with the main driver contracts thought to be easy to navigate.

As for commercial partners, the move makes sense for Red Bull which has a prominent global arrangement with Ford’s motorsport activities in Formula 1, Dakar and more.

The Supercheap Auto deal with T8 for the wildcard entry is up for renewal this year, however Speedcafe understands that talks are positive.

The big question mark, however, is Lowndes.

The Supercars legend has jumped the manufacturer divide a number of times before, most famously when he left the Holden fold to become a Ford driver in 2001.

He would later return to Holden/GM with Triple Eight in 2010 and has remained loyal to the General since then.

The complicating factor with this latest switch for T8 is that, now retired from full-time Supercars racing, Lowndes has ambassador roles with GM and its parts subsidiary AC-Delco.

They would have to be dissolved for him to continue as a T8 driver beyond 2025 which also happens to be the last year of Lowndes’ current contract with the team.

The Lowndes camp politely declined to comment on the matter when approached by Speedcafe.

Ford issues renders of a Supercheap Auto-backed Ford Mustang without Lowndes’ name attached. Other renders featured Will Brown and Broc Feeney on the windows.

T8 managing director Jamie Whincup did address the matter to Speedcafe – albeit before Lowndes had been told about the Ford deal – and expressed hope that Lowndes would stay with the team.

“You’re talking to us early, I’ve got to call Lowndesy in a couple of hours time,” Whincup said. “Of course, we’ll have to have that discussion with him.

“I think he’s united with Triple 8. He loves the wildcard program that we run. It makes sense for him, and I think he’ll be excited about the change for 2026.”

For more with Jamie Whincup on Triple Eight’s shock Ford defection listen to our explosive podcast.