DJR not expecting Kostecki culture clash

The 2023 Supercars champion will join the powerhouse Ford team next year in what was the blockbuster deal of the silly season this year.

While Kostecki is clearly a DJR-worthy driving talent, he is also well known for his relaxed persona – perhaps best highlighted by the recent post-Bathurst 1000 photo shoot, where he was sporting a Chiko bucket hat and a pair of Crocs.

That is at odds with the strict culture of a polished presentation at DJR, fostered in the Team Penske ownership era and carried on to this day.

So, will the driver in the bucket hat and the team with shirts tucked into black dress pants find common ground?

According to Story, it’s an emphatic yes. And it’s all thanks to the man whose name is on the factory door.

“There’s two people who have put it best, and that’s Paul Morris and the original, OG WAG, Jilly Johnson,” Story told Speedcafe.

“They both said, ‘he’s Dick Johnson, he’s a young Dick Johnson’. He’s got great mechanical sympathy. He understands the car. He’s a larrikin. He’s got a one liner on him at all times.

“When we had success with Scotty McLaughlin in our DJR Team Penske years, we had a hell of a lot of fun. We had more fun than what you might have published at the time.

“And that’s fine, because I’ve got no problem if there’s ever any association with our organisation and Penske, and being ‘Penske perfect’. I think that’s just fine.

“We don’t want to change [Kostecki]. We might smooth the edges a little bit, but we don’t want to change the bloke.

“Wait until February. The first time you see him in February, wearing one of our race suits, you’ll know where we are at.”

The countdown is on to when Kostecki will official start work at DJR, with the team opting not to run its new signing at a ride day this week.

That means his first laps are likely to come early next year in a brand new DJR Mustang built on an Erebus Motorsport chassis.

It’s an exciting wait for DJR, though, with Story adamant that he has snared the best driver in Supercars.

“We’re pumped,” Story added. “He is, to me, the best driver in the field.

“Because not only is he fast, he knows what the car is doing, he knows what he needs to go fast. He’s an exceptional talent.”