Super2 Series leader Rylan Gray, 18, and latest race winner Jackson Walls, 22, are among the young chargers wanting to break into the championship.
With Tickford Racing having locked down Cam Waters and Thomas Randle on multi-year deals, Gray is having to look elsewhere for his big chance.
Currently enjoying a stellar second Super2 season and preparing for an endurance wildcard campaign, Gray rates his chances of a full-time graduation in 2026 as “50:50”.
“It’s so hard to break into the main game nowadays,” he said. “Most of the guys swap between teams and it doesn’t really leave space for young guys coming up.
“We’ll just focus on Super2 and trying to wrap up the championship here, just try and keep our heads down and hopefully something comes up.”
Walls, who made the leap from Carrera Cup to Super2 this year with Triple Eight, told a similar story.
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“It’s just so hard cracking into main game now with contracts and everyone just seems to swap [seats],” he said.
“Instead of some guys who could potentially leave, they just stay in and take budget to a different team. Just to be in anything really in main game is the goal.”
Doubling down on his point, Gray noted the recent success of young drivers in the Supercars Championship.
Last weekend’s Ipswich Super440 again featured a new record for the youngest ever Supercars podium, with Broc Feeney, Kai Allen and Ryan Wood boasting an average age just over 21.
The record had stood for only a matter of weeks after Feeney, Allen and Matt Payne in Darwin beat a marker that had stood for just over two years.
“You see some of the older guys just swap teams and it doesn’t really do any good,” added Gray.
“Then you see all the younger guys getting more race wins and podiums and I think that’s the way the future is heading… you see all the young guys doing good now.”
While Gray is eager to step up in 2026, Walls said he’s targeting 2027 for a Supercars Championship berth, with a second Super2 season at Triple Eight likely next year.
“I’m not trying to create any expectations for myself, I’m seeing how it goes by the minute,” he said. “We know what we’re striving for in 2027. We’re working backwards from there.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be content with anything less than nabbing the Super2 title this year.
Victory on Sunday leaves the Triple Eight driver fifth in the standings behind the four Tickford drivers, less than 200 points adrift of Gray.
“I didn’t enter this category to come fifth or be rookie champion, I came here to be a champion,” Walls added.
“If anyone isn’t with that goal in this category, they shouldn’t be racing, it’s as simple as that. I just go out there and try and win as many races as possible.”
The Super2 Series will continue at the Bathurst 1000 on October 9-12.
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