50 years of Craig Lowndes

One of the most famous faces ever to step foot in a Supercars paddock, Craig Lowndes celebrates his 50th birthday today.

Lowndes was born on 21 June, 1974 and has forged one of the greatest careers in Supercars/ATCC.

Seven Bathurst 1000 wins puts him second all time with Jim Richards, while no one has more podiums than him with 14 in the October (mostly) classic.

This year will he pass his great mentor Peter Brock with the second most consecutive Great Race starts having not missed a trip to the mountain since when he took John Bowe by storm in 1994.

At 21, Lowndes remains the youngest to be a Supercars champion from his 1996 success as a rookie.

His name is still well clear in most race starts, while he remains in the top three on the list of most race wins and podiums.

In addition to the 677 races and 110 wins, Lowndes has become one of the most popular drivers on and off the track.

Even since his full-time retirement in 2018, Lowndes has struggled to leave a race car, being retained as a Triple Eight co-driver.

From 2022 onwards, he has changed his focus from going all out for victory to giving back to the sport and supporting and developing rising young talents in the Supercheap Auto wildcard.

Declan Fraser, Zane Goddard and now Cooper Murray have all been part of the program and learnt invaluable lessons from Lowndes, who has helped them every step of the way.

A record wildcard finish at Bathurst in 2022 helped promote Fraser to the main game, while Goddard used the opportunity to bounce back from a tough experience at Tickford and this year Murray has already made a name for himself.

The benefits do not just exclusively sit with the lucky wildcard steerer however, with Lowndes also finding it an extremely rewarding experience each year and is showing no signs of slowing down with a half century on the board.

“It is nice to still be involved in the category and team to be honest. This role is one I really enjoy and embrace because it gives that next generation an opportunity to race,” Lowndes told AUTO ACTION when this year’s wildcard was launched.

Craig Lowndes, Cooper Murray, Jamie Whincup with the 2024 wildcard.

“For me I was quite lucky when I first started to have someone like a Brock helping me understand the industry.

“I said it with Declan and Zane and it will be no different with Cooper, when they put the helmet on they are fine, they are racers and understand it all. I am not worried about that.

“It is more this side of it, getting your head around it all and getting used to coping with all the demands from fans, corporates, signing sessions and making sure they are in a good mindset when they get in the car and ready to go.”

Lowndes started racing racing cars aged 15 in 1991.

He continued to make a name for himself in open wheelers, which kicked off a staggering run of championships.

In 1993 he won the Australian Formula Ford Championship, the following year he took the Australian Silver Star crown in a Formula Holden racing for Brock’s 1975 Bathurst winning co-driver Brian Sampson.

In that same year Lowndes stunned the ATCC pit lane when he shared the #015 HRT VP Commodore with Brad Jones and pushed John Bowe to the very edge in a thrilling Bathurst 1000.

Craig Lowndes dominating in 1996.

For 1995 Lowndes was the HRT test driver and got a chance to race in the enduros where he took pole at both Sandown and Bathurst.

HRT had seen enough and promoted Lowndes to a full time seat in 1996 and its faith paid off handsomely as he rewrote the record books.

Not only did Lowndes win the ATCC title as a rookie, but he set a record for the most wins in a single season.

Lowndes then left Australia for Europe to chase the F1 dream, but battled in Formula 3000 alongside Jaun Pablo Montoya.

But back home he had lost none of his magic and won the 1997 Sandown 500 immediately before recording crushing back to back V8 Supercars championships with the all conquering HRT in 1998 and 1999.

Craig Lowndes famously wins the 1999 Adelaide 500.

Lowndes stayed in red at the turn of the century, but after his run of titles came to an end in 2000, he shocked the motorsport world by making the shock deflection from Holden to Ford.

He made his “Blue Oval” debut with the ‘green eyed monster’ at Gibson Motorsport and it started well.

Back to back podiums at Phillip Island followed by a win in the opening leg of the 2001 Clipsal 500 got Ford fans very excited.

Craig Lowndes at Oran Park in 2001.

But the pace soon became inconsistent and after just one win from the next 56 starts, he was on the move again.

For 2003 Lowndes was the face of Ford’s new powerhouse, Ford Performance Racing.

Despite high expectations following another early win in the rain in Phillip Island, the relationship quickly turned sour and the stint again only lasted two years.

Lowndes became the biggest fish on the market and he stayed loyal to Ford and moved to the then unproven Triple Eight Race Engineering.

But it proved to be a master stroke as the car that is now synonymous with Lowndes, #888, took back to back podiums on Adelaide debut before a memorable win at Eastern Creek.

Craig Lowndes leads the field at a dark, gloomy and soaked Phillip Island. Image: Mark Horsburgh/LAT Photographic

In Lowndes’ first two seasons at Triple Eight, he finished a close second in the championship.

The 2006 season was his best, having been locked in a thrilling fight with Rick Kelly for the title that was infamously decided at Phillip Island.

But more famously the pair were fighting nose-to-tail for Great Race glory and Lowndes produced one of the most emotional and appropriate victories ever, winning his first Bathurst 1000 in a decade just a month after Brock had tragically passed away.

He and Jamie Whincup then forged one of the greatest partnerships ever, following in Brock’s footsteps and taking a rare hat-trick of Great Race victories.

Craig Lowndes put in a famous last stint to fend off Rick Kelly in 2006. Image:Supercars

Over the next decade Lowndes remained one of the fastest drivers on the grid, winning regularly and finishing second in the championship on four more occasions.

He always found an extra gear when taking on the Mountain and produced more special drives in 2010, 2015 and 2018 to be among the very best.

Craig Lowndes last Bathurst success famously arrived in 2018.

Victory at Wanneroo in 2013 saw him surpass Mark Skaife as the most victorious Supercars/ATCC driver ever, while he scored a century of wins at Hidden Valley in 2015.

Since his retirement in 2018, Lowndes has been as present as ever, co-driving for Triple Eight and commentating on Fox Sports.

Lowndes may only be 50 years young, but his trademark smile will be seen in the Supercars pit lane for many more to come.

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