Supercars ace Cam Waters to make NASCAR Truck debut at Martinsville

Following in the footsteps of Supercars champs Shane van Gisbergen and Brodie Kostecki, Waters will make his NASCAR debut early next month.

The Australian driver has started nearly 250 Supercars races during his career, winning 11. He has been the championship runner-up twice, and has three podiums in the series' crown jewel event — the Bathurst 1000.

The 29-year-old, who drives a Ford Mustang for Tickford Racing, will remain with the blue oval for his NASCAR debut. He will drive a Ford F-150 for ThorSport Racing, a team that has won five drivers' championships in the Truck Series. ThorSport are also the defending champions with Ben Rhodes.

The race takes place on Friday, April 5. The track he will be competing at is one of NASCAR's smallest — a historic 0.526-mile oval short track that has been a part of the schedule since NASCAR's inception.

“We’ve been working away at making this happen for some time and to finally be given the change to race, and with a top operation, is great," said Waters in a release from the team. "I’m not putting too much pressure on myself knowing I will be getting thrown into the deep end without any testing, but hopefully I can adapt reasonably quickly and be competitive.  It’s a short oval so I’m sure it will be pretty wild out there.

“I have to thank Ford Performance and the team at ThorSport for helping make this happen and also my long-time team Tickford Racing, who have always supported my plans to explore new driving opportunities in and around my continued dedication to winning the Supercars Championship with them.“

Add Tickford Racing owner Rod Nash: "Anything that can provide Cam with further seat time is a bonus, said Nash. His foray into Sprint Car racing and now the NASCAR Truck event provides a fantastic way for Cam to stay sharp and further test his skills. The timing being in-between the AGP event and Taupo also works well for our team and we’re wishing Cam well and will be watching with huge interest.”

Waters is the latest in a recent influx of Supercars talent into the stock car world. Van Gisbergen is currently competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with the hopes of jumping to Cup full-time in 2025. Kostecki made his NASCAR Cup debut last year, but of course, his current plans remain in limbo following his shock exit from Erebus.