Exclusive: Erebus reveals NASCAR plans for 2024

Erebus Motorsport plans to enter some NASCAR races in 2024, capitalising on its relationship with Richard Childress Racing and driver Brodie Kostecki’s desire to explore more action State-side in 24 and beyond.

The exact nature of the campaign will not be known until the release of the 2024 Supercar and NASCAR calendars, but CEO Barry Ryan says this is not a pipedream or publicity stunt, it is real and providing calendars align it will happen.

“It is something we’ve talked about for a while, and I’ve always told Betty (team founder Betty Klimenko) that it should be something we look at,” Ryan explained.

Erebus Motorsport has revealed its intensions to participate in a select amount of NASCAR Cup Series races in 2024. Digital Image creation by Scott Yorston – ss MEDIA. Copyright AUTO ACTION Magazine

“With Brodie having so much interest in it, too, and with what he did, it’s silly not to keep developing our relationship with RCR for the benefit of both teams.

“RCR definitely sees value in it for their road course program, and we see value in it. If we can send more staff over there and get some experience in between events, it’s invaluable.

“If we can cycle some of our crew over there, and some engineering staff like George and Tom, we can always learn something. That’s why, for a period there, I did Spa 24 hours, Dubai 24 hours, Macau, and all those races because you just learn so much.”

Brodie Kostecki made his NASCAR Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing at Indianapolis in August. image: RCR

Ryan said the timing is right. Erebus has nailed the Gen3 transition and is working on winning its first teams’ and drivers’ championship – both of which it leads heading into Bathurst – and he says this is not a distraction, rather it will help across the board next year.

Just as drivers need more races, he says the crew does too, and the alignment between the cars and engineering philosophies make it a good time to dabble in the world’s largest touring car series.

Brodie Kostecki leads Erebus teammate Will Brown at the Sandown 500. Image:Peter Norton

“It’s like trying to step into supercars from another country; we’ll probably go slowly and we’re just in the planning phase at the moment without forgetting what we’ve got to do here first,” he said.

“I’d love to one day think we’ve got everything but a pit crew doing NASCAR because it’s so specialised and they do so much practice that we’d have to have a car and all the equipment here to practice it.

Brodie Kostecki racing at Indianapolis in the Peter Adderton backed RCR Camaro. Photo by Nigel Kinrade / NKP / LAT Images

“But I think having a couple of mechanics and maybe George or Tom in the pit box with another crew chief guiding them and contributing to engineering and strategic decisions would be an amazing experience, and that can only make us better here.”

He said the magnitude of what they are talking about has not escaped either him or majority team owner Betty Klimenko, who said in Auto Action five years ago that she wanted to go NASCAR racing.

Will Brown and Brodie Kostecki have taken Erebus to new heights in 2023. Photo by Mark Horsburgh / LAT Images)

“It’s just that we believe in ourselves, and we want to ensure that we’re not just a Supercar team, and we can go off and do some other categories in Australia,” Ryan said.

“But that’s not what Betty’s about, I remember when I first met her, she was like world dominance was her thing, and everything we’ve ever done, whether it was GT or Utes we’ve succeeded.

“Every team aspires to win races regularly, and if we can win a championship, then it’s a box ticked, so then what are we going to do next? Apart from trying to keep winning championships in Supercars, you’ve got to keep moving forward. You don’t go forward if you stand still.

The cover of Auto Action issue #1766 revealing Betty’s American dream.

“I think between Brodie’s interest and my explaining to her how it could be done financially – because this would be a business decision, not just Betty spending money – she is on board.

“This is a way to go over there and work with a team that we’ve already got a relationship with, and the prize money and stuff that you can get over there if you can do a good job, you can pay a big percentage of it, if not a lot of it, through results. It’s different from Supercars.”

Yesterday’s race at Talladega produced a finish for the ages as Ryan Blaney snuck his nose ahead of Kevin Harvick at the chequered. Photo by Nigel Kinrade / NKP / LAT Images

Ryan said the relationship between Erebus and RCR started with an introduction from Image Racing’s Terry Wyhoon through RCR engineer Andrew Dickerson, who used to work for Wyhoon.

He says so far both teams have benefitted from the relationship, and that this next step is logical for them, as well as providing opportunities for Kostecki without him having to leave Erebus.

Look for more information in the print and digital versions of Auto Action in the coming week.

Digital Image creation by Scott Yorston – ss MEDIA. Copy right AUTO ACTION Magazine

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