The result came four days after the Kiwi star issued a statement intended to end speculation that he’s looking to ditch Grove Racing for Team 18 next season.
He sat in Sunday’s post-race media conference between his current boss Brenton Grove and would-be suitor Adrian Burgess, with manager Michael Patrizi watching on.
Payne’s future has been under question since last year, when it emerged that Team 18 and General Motors were chasing the 23-year-old to boost its Supercars stocks.
The driver fuelled rumours that Patrizi was working to get him out of the final year of his Grove contract when he deflected a question on the subject in April.
Grove’s position has remained unchanged throughout, having declared Payne will be held to the contract that runs until the end of 2027.
Publicity around news that Grove had blocked an offer from GM to put Payne in this weekend’s Sonoma NASCAR event appeared to bring the situation to a head.
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Payne’s Thursday statement acknowledged that “I have a contract with Grove Racing and I expect to be driving with the team to the end of 2027”.
While the exact wording did raise eyebrows, the statement was clearly intended to reduce the noise and let the parties focus on going racing.
That was naturally welcomed by the Grove camp, with CEO Brenton Grove somewhat cheekily insisting the parties had always been “on the same page”.
“We signed Matt because we knew his potential and we want him driving our race car,” said Grove on Sunday evening.
“[The statement] was nice to quieten you guys [in the media] up more than anything, but internally nothing has changed.
“You see the performances we’re putting in, I don’t think it’s determined anything this year.
“Hopefully the external noise quietens down because there’s nothing to see, but internally it didn’t make any difference for us.”
Payne’s statement said nothing of his post-2027 plans or ambitions, leaving readers to imply that he’s still intending to be on the move.
He had on Friday addressed the missed NASCAR chance, which Grove said it knocked back primarily due to its ties to Ford.
“It was obviously a cool opportunity,” Payne said.
“To be presented with something like that, it’s obviously very special. But unfortunately, the decision was made and we all moved on.
“So we’ll continue to do what we’re doing now and that’s continuing trying to win races.”
While GM wants Payne at Team 18 to bolster its Supercars fortunes, the promise of international opportunities has been key to its pitch.
Factory driver status and a pathway to a full-time future in either NASCAR or IMSA has been mooted amid the saga.
Asked by Speedcafe on Sunday if he has ambitions beyond Supercars, Payne was in no mood to elaborate.
“I’m just focused on doing what I’m doing at the moment and trying to win races this year and win the championship,” he said.
The biggest winner out of Payne’s apparent admission he’s staying put for 2027 looks to be Team 18 incumbent David Reynolds.
Out-of-contract with the squad and struggling for consistent results, Reynolds was positioned to be sacrificed for the young star.
With Payne still expected to be making the switch to Team 18 in 2028, extending Reynolds appears a far more likely prospect than signing a single-year stopgap.
Riding the high of Sunday’s win, Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt is also playing his cards close when it comes to the future.
“We’re giving everything possible, whatever we’ve got to do, for Dave to get him up there,” he told Speedcafe.
“We’re doing that. And you’ve got to look to the future down the track.
“Dave is not at the beginning of his career, he’s at the end. But it could be a year, it could be two years, who knows?
“We’re working all our plans out and trying to cement a really solid plan for the future.”
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