Whincup opens up on Triple Eight ownership impact

The seven-time Supercars champion joined Roland Dane, Tim Miles, Paul Dumbrell and Jessica Dane as an equity partner in Triple Eight Race Engineering last year, taking a 15 per cent stake in a bid to shore up his future beyond the cockpit.

While ultimately a longer-term move, he says the buy-in has had an immediate impact on his outlook, with more focus 'outside of his backyard' and a keener interest on the general health of the category.

“It makes you lift your eyes a bit more,” he told the Red Bull website.

“I find I look around more at how the teams are run, what’s going on with TV, Supercars itself, the overall direction – it’s made me think a lot more outside of my own backyard and just driving a car around in circles, which is a good thing.

“The main reason I bought into Triple Eight is so I can continue with racing for a long time to come. Most athletes, they hang up their footy boots or helmet and that’s the end, full stop.

"I want to be involved in a racing team until I’m 60 years old. It’s a natural progression, and that’s something that motivates me.

“On top of that, to be surrounded by people like Roland, Paul Dumbrell and Tim Miles as the other directors, they’re guys who have done it and done it well for a very long time. They’re all such good operators in their own right.

"If I can learn from those guys, the value of my investment is greater. Spending time around good people is so invaluable.”

Whincup is expected to continue driving until at least the end of the 2020 season, working to what is effectively a rolling single-year deal with T8.