Brodie Kostecki might be enjoying a burgeoning career in the Supercars Championship, but the Australian is interested in returning to his roots on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. According to a report by Simon Chapman of Speedcafe, a recent trip to the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Cup Series race at Gateway have inspired the 24-year-old to consider pursuing a Cup start in 2023 should scheduling aligns in his favour.
Driving for Erebus Motorsport, Kostecki is in his second full season of Supercars competition and sits eighth in points after eight races. He enjoyed his breakout moment in the second race of 2022 at Sydney Motorsport Park when he won the pole and finished second.
“I want to do some more racing in general, to be honest,” Kostecki told Speedcafe. “I’m a racer at heart and I just want to drive anything. We only have twelve or thirteen rounds on our calendar. I want to try fill up almost every second week as much as possible with racing, whether it be in my sprint car [or otherwise]. I’m really looking forward to jumping back in that when the season starts back up in Toowoomba (where Gen3 testing recently took place).
“I want to spread my wings a bit and just try race as much as possible. I absolutely love my Supercar racing, I just want to try race as much as possible.”
Prior to entering Supercars or its feeder Super2 Series, Kostecki spent two seasons in the United States competing in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West. After running three races as a 15-year-old in 2013, he increased his slate to include nearly the entire 2014 schedule. He recorded four top tens, a best finish of fifth in the season finale at Dover, and a pole at Iowa en route to an eighteenth-place points finish.
During his stay in the U.S., Kostecki befriended many drivers who have ascended through stock car racing’s ladder to reach the Cup Series like Corey LaJoie and Cole Custer, and described Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry as one of his “closest friends over there”.
Much of the Cup Series’ allure for Kostecki comes in NASCAR’s recent trend towards road courses and the new Next Gen car, the latter of which shares many traits with touring cars and the Supercars such as independent rear suspension. The Supercars are also introducing a new generation of vehicle in 2023 with the Gen3, which consists of the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang like with the Next Gen car.
“I want to go there and try to do a few road courses and just have some fun,” Kostecki commented. “I’m a big fan of high horsepower cars and low downforce, the bigger car and the more power, it’s more attractive to me.
“I haven’t been the biggest fan of GT-style racing. Supercars and NASCAR are actually very alike in some ways, and especially now since I have a new car as well.”
Kostecki’s confession of interest also comes amid a wave of international curiosity with the Cup Series. For example, Kimi Räikkönen is set to make his Cup début at Watkins Glen in August while NASCAR recently revised its testing rules for drivers who possess “elite credentials” despite little stock car experience.
