Retirement may be on the horizon for Jamie Whincup after the seven-time Supercars series champion admitted he was not sure what the future held when his current Holden contract ran out at the end of 2020.
The four-time Bathurst champion had already sparked rumours that he was about to pull the pin on his stellar Supercars career after buying a 15 per cent stake in his Holden heavyweight outfit Triple Eight Engineering last year.
Yet speculation reached fever pitch that Whincup was setting himself up for life after full-time driving after the Holden star was voted on to the Supercars Commission for a two-year term ahead of this weekend’s Gold Coast 600.
And Whincup, 36, didn’t exactly play down the rumours when pressed on the significance of his new role.
“I am contracted until the end of next year (with Triple Eight) so I am fully committed to the end of next year but I am not sure what is going to happen from there on in,” he said.
“I just don’t want to get to the end (of my contract) and have no further involvement in the sport so I am trying to set myself up.
“I am a proud share owner of Triple Eight and a Commissioner for the next 24 months so I am looking forward to that role.
“Fingers crossed I can do good things in the sport.”
Whincup said he hoped to make a difference on the Supercars Commission which decides regulations for the series, dismissing speculation that he would be a pawn for his Triple Eight Engineering outfit.
It has emerged that Whincup sent a letter to team owners declaring he’s “not going to play a puppet” for Triple Eight before being voted onto the Supercars Commission.
“The last thing I want to do is blend in and cruise along for the next two years and not actually achieve anything,” Whincup said.
“I want to get in and try to make a difference or get told to piss off.
“I feel like the category is in one of its most challenging years.
“So it would be great to be a part of the bigger team to change the trajectory a little bit and make sure that we’ve got one of the best sporting codes in the country.”
Whincup now joins the Supercars Commission along with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer, Brad Jones (Brad Jones Racing), Tim Edwards (Tickford Racing), Shane Howard (Supercars chief operating officer), Adrian Burgess (Supercars head of motorsport) and Ryan Story (DJR Team Penske).
Whincup’s immediate focus is on Gold Coast 600 qualifying on Saturday.