[ad_1]
Dick Johnson said that a first Supercars championship for Scott McLaughlin and that the DJR Team Penske alliance reminded him of winning his first victory as a driver.
McLaughlin sealed the 2018 crown in Newcastle last weekend, after a heartbreaking defeat 12 months earlier.
It was an eighth championship for Johnson drivers, eight years after James Courtney won his seventh place.
US giant Team Penske took part in a troubled Ford operation at the end of 2014, slowly rebuilding until McLaughlin and engineer Ludo Lacroix arrived last year.
Johnson won the ATCC five times between 1981 and 89, with John Bowe and Courtney winning the other titles on his team.
"It's like being back in 1981," Johnson said.
"I know what it's like to get the first one and do it with Roger [Penske] and his wife here, and Tim Cindric.
"It's them who made it all possible, with all these guys, like Ludo and all the guys.
"It's just something really special."
During his career, Johnson resisted the No. 1 champion's convention the following year, staying true to his iconic No. 17.
McLaughlin now wears this number and after consulting with Johnson, he decided not to use the number 1 in 2019, as a result of the Supercars Hall of Famer initiative.
Bowe's 1996 campaign will therefore remain the only time that DJR has attempted to defend a championship with No. 1.
Courtney won the No. 1 Holden Racing Team plaque in 2011, and although DJR creatively posted the No. 1 before the season, her graphics were quickly banned.
The McLaughlin title finished a big year for Penske, after Will Power won the IndyCar Indianapolis 500 and Joey Logano sealed the NASCAR Cup series.
"I think it's a team effort," said Roger Penske.
"At the end of the day, it's all about our people and seeing Scotty and Fabian [Coulthard] and the whole team is doing what they did here, it's amazing for us and probably finishing our best season.
"This is the people and Scotty is at the top for us from the point of view, as a driver and especially as a person.
"You've seen the guy, what he's done, a fan favorite, you do not understand that just because you're driving a race car, he's a real guy and we're proud of him." To have on our team. "
Penske and Cindric traveled to Newcastle for the Supercars final for a second year in a row, but left with happier memories this time around.
"We were on the other side of last year," Cindric said.
"To see all this from the beginning, I can not be more proud of this team for the path they have traveled so fast.
"Every time you do something for the first time with Roger Penske, it's a big problem.
"We came here to start a business, but to promote this business through the race and I think everyone knows the Penske brand.
"It meant a lot to him, but it also mattered to Dick Johnson and to be part of the overall culture and to add to Supercar's legacy is something we are very proud of."
Source link
