The seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner has reached a career crossroads with news Triple Eight will return to Ford in 2026.

Lowndes, 50, has been with the Brisbane-based team since 2005 and is out of contract at the end of this year’s endurance campaign.

He’s enjoyed success with both Ford and General Motors in the past and currently has an ambassadorial role with the latter.

GM has declared it will fight to keep Lowndes in its ranks, although with which team – and therefore how competitive a seat it can find him – is unclear.

Triple Eight has also expressed a desire to extend its association with the veteran, having deployed him in a youth-and-experience wildcard entry in recent years.

Ford has yet to weigh-in on the matter but would undoubtedly benefit from having the most marketable driver in the sport’s modern era back in its fold.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Triple Eight announcement, Lowndes last week admitted retirement is also an option.

Lowndes breaks silence on future after Ford bombshell

This year will mark Lowndes’ 32nd Great Race start, equalling that of his mentor Peter Brock for second on the all-time list behind only Jim Richards.

Lowndes last won the Bathurst 1000 in 2018, his final year as a full-time driver, and has stressed that he doesn’t want to “just make up the numbers” on the grid.

Although no longer one of the category’s leading lights, Lowndes again proved in 2024 that he can still hold his own on track.

As Lowndes takes time to assess all his options, there remains the possibility of a left-field suitor emerging, such as new player Toyota.

Lowndes began his V8 career with Walkinshaw Andretti United when it was known as the Holden Racing Team, making a spectacular Bathurst 1000 debut with the squad in 1994.

What do you think? What should Lowndes do in 2026? Let us know in this week’s Pirtek Poll.