Davison’s slice of #17 history

With victory at the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight, Will Davison etched his name into Dick Johnson Racing folklore.

Davison benefited from a Cam Waters penalty to win Race 11 on Sunday at Wanneroo Raceway.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver’s victory is the 20th of his career and first since 2016.

Davison ended a 166-race winless run; the 39-year-old hadn’t won since the 2016 Bathurst 1000, when he was racing for Tekno Autosports.

It also ensured Davison became just the fourth different full-time driver to win with the famous #17.

The iconic number has been a staple of DJR since Dick Johnson burst onto the scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Supercars Hall of Famer Johnson won five titles and 30 championship races, as well as his three Bathursts, with the #17 on the door.

Steven Johnson raced with the number from the late 1990s to his own full-time departure in 2012.

Johnson junior won three races in 2001, his first coming on the streets of Canberra.

Between 2013 and 2016, Tim Blanchard, David Wall, Marcos Ambrose and Scott Pye all donned the #17 for little success.

That all changed when Scott McLaughlin arrived at the team in 2017.

Between 2017 and 2020, McLaughlin rewrote the history books with 48 wins, three straight titles (2018-20) and a Bathurst win in 2019.

McLaughlin’s 48 wins in the #17 are not only the most for the number, but the most by a Ford driver in ATCC/Supercars history.

Davison returned to DJR last season, having raced for the team between 2006 and 2008.

However, Davison ran with the #18 on a full-time basis, and only jumped into Steven Johnson’s #17 entry for the 2007 enduros.

Johnson junior and Davison combined to finish third in Bathurst in 2007, and third in the 2008 Phillip Island enduro.

In 2008, Davison took wins at Eastern Creek - which was his first ever Supercars victory - and Winton, both with the #18 on the window.

He shifted to the Holden Racing Team in 2009, and later raced for Ford Performance Racing, Erebus Motorsport, Tekno and 23Red Racing.

Davison’s Perth win is the first for the #17 since McLaughlin won in Tailem Bend in September 2020.

It is also Davison’s 69th career podium, pushing him two clear of Johnson senior’s tally.

Full-time ATCC/Supercars history of the #17

Dick Johnson (1977-99): 30 wins, 5 titles, 3 Bathurst winsSteven Johnson (2000-12): 3 winsTim Blanchard (2013)David Wall (2014)Marcos Ambrose (2015)Scott Pye (2015-16)Scott McLaughlin (2017-20): 48 wins, 3 titles, 1 Bathurst winWill Davison (2021-present): 1 win