Childress wants Kostecki for more NASCAR Cup races in 2024

Veteran NASCAR team owner Childress, 78, flew to Adelaide “to watch him win the championship” as part of his squad’s alliance with Kostecki’s Erebus team in Australia.

“Hopefully we can race him two or three [times] on the road courses,” Childress told Fox Sports of his hopes to increase Kostecki’s NASCAR experience. “But I want to run him on an oval, he’s raced on them earlier in his career.

“The schedules have to coordinate; I’ve got a couple in mind that I’d like him to run – we’re looking at Watkins Glen and Sonoma – because he’d do well there.”

Kostecki made his debut in the top NASCAR tier at the Indianapolis road course in August, driving a third RCR entry backed by Peter Adderton’s MobileX company.

He qualified 11th but crashed trying to crack the top five on his final attempt, when he got loose off Turn 11 and hit the wall, which did significant damage to his car.

That meant he was forced to start from the rear in a back-up car and finished at the tail of the lead lap in 22nd.

Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images

Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, Socios.com Ford Mustang and Brodie Kostecki, Richard Childress Racing, MobileX Chevrolet Camaro

“It was a pretty neat deal to have him come over,” added Childress. “Both drivers of ours are doing better [on road courses] because Brodie came over.

“There’s such a high level of competition in Supercars, if our drivers came here they’d get educated pretty quick because these guys are so aggressive and you’ve got to be so good with these cars.”

Childress also spoke about Shane van Gisbergen’s sensational NASCAR victory on debut for Trackhouse at the Chicago street race last year: “It was a good deal for NASCAR to have him come over and win, because people all over the world were talking about him coming in and winning.

“He did a heck of a job there, winning in the rain, it just fit his wheelhouse really well.”

Kostecki and van Gisbergen will fight out the Supercars title between themselves at this weekend’s Adelaide 500.

Kostecki grabbed pole for Saturday’s race, despite glancing a wall, with van Gisbergen in sixth.