A path well worn: How Super2 champions have gone in rookie seasons

Penrite Racing’s recent confirmation that Kai Allen will join Matt Payne for 2025 and beyond has been met with much fanfare.

The reigning Super2 champion has impressed many with his maturity and consistency in the development series, and is on track to become the first back-to-back Super2 champion, all before he turns 20-years-old next June.

Confirmation of Allen’s graduation continues a rich history of Super2 champions securing their solo main game debuts following their second tier success.

The jump from Super2 to Supercars has always been a tough assignment, with the likes of Mark Winterbottom, Dean Canto, Tony D'Alberto, Dale Wood, Todd Hazelwood and Declan Fraser all encountering baptisms of fire in their rookie seasons.

However, some main game rookies have achieved notable success in their debut seasons, with one star already a championship contender and record-breaker.

Supercars.com takes a look back at some of the most notable rookie seasons for graduating Super2 champions.

Jonathon Webb, 2010

Sydneysider Webb outlasted fellow Ford drivers James Moffat and David Russell to claim the 2009 Super2 crown with a race to spare at his home race in Homebush.

Webb secured his main game promotion in an expanded Dick Johnson Racing outfit for 2010, running a third Falcon in conjunction with his family’s team Tekno Autosports.

Webb finished eighth on debut in Abu Dhabi and was a regular in the midfield, but it was at the final round in Homebush where he capitalised on one of Supercars’ most famous moments.

Webb made the call to pit for wet tyres just as the heavens opened, with title contenders Mark Winterbottom, Jamie Whincup, and James Courtney all spearing into the wall as mayhem ensued behind.

Webb picked his way through the wreckage to emerge in the lead, and held off Jason Bright to claim the most unlikely of maiden victories 12 months on from his Super2 crown, and finished a respectable 13th in the final standings.

Scott McLaughlin, 2013

Now an IndyCar star with Team Penske, McLaughlin prevailed in an iconic Super2 season in 2012, beating fellow Super2 alumni Scott Pye, Chaz Mostert, and Nick Percat.

The then 19-year-old made his solo main game debut on the same day he claimed his Super2 crown, subbing in for an ill Alex Premat and finishing 17th on the streets of Homebush for Garry Rogers Motorsport.

His impressive performance with minimal preparation was enough to convince Rogers, always with a keen eye for talent development, to give the Kiwi a full-time ride for 2013 as teammate to Premat.

Making the most of the new Car of the Future regulations, McLaughlin immediately impressed, claiming top 10 finishes in the first five races of 2013 before an incredible performance on home soil at Pukekohe.

Starting fourth, McLaughlin stormed to his maiden win in front of a manic home crowd, and still holds the record for the youngest Supercars race winner to this day at 19 years, 10 months and three days old.

McLaughlin would claim a further win at Queensland Raceway en route to 10th in the final standings, whilst Frenchman Premat would later team up with McLaughlin to win the 2019 Bathurst 1000 for DJR Team Penske.

Cam Waters, 2016

Having risen to prominence as the inaugural winner of the Shannons Supercars Showdown reality series in 2011, it wasn’t until a move to Ford Performance Racing (now Tickford Racing) in 2014 that Cam Waters’ potential began to be realised.

In 2015, Waters went on a tear, at one stage winning seven races in a row to beat veteran and reigning Super2 champion Paul Dumbrell to the crown.

The Mildura product also got an early taste of the main game, subbing for an injured Chaz Mostert in the back half of 2015.

Waters would make his full-time debut in 2016 carrying his now synonymous Monster Energy colours, and finished fourth in a wet and wild Race 3 at the Adelaide 500.

Waters also claimed his maiden pole position at Perth in a wet qualifying session, and finished an impressive fourth at the Bathurst 1000 alongside Jack Le Brocq.

However, those flashes of brilliance were tempered by several retirements and lowly finishes, leaving Waters 19th in the final standings. 

Bryce Fullwood, 2020

Bryce Fullwood was in a league of his own in the 2019 Super2 Series, claiming six wins in 14 races on his way to an emphatic title win.

Fullwood also starred in the enduro season alongside Andre Heimgartner in a Kelly Racing Nissan, finishing fourth in the co-driver sprint at the Sandown 500 after surviving a lurid spin in the damp conditions.

Fullwood’s standout performances were rewarded with a plum drive at Walkinshaw Andretti United for 2020 alongside new recruit Chaz Mostert.

However, the season would be plunged into chaos after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Australian Grand Prix.

Fullwood found himself in the midfield for the majority of the season, however the standout highlight was a maiden podium at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Unfortunately his season would end with a heavy crash in the closing stages of the Bathurst 1000, leaving him 18th in the final standings.

Broc Feeney, 2022

Arguably the most comparable graduate to Allen is current Supercars title combatant Broc Feeney, who was handed the unenviable task of carrying Jamie Whincup’s incredible legacy at Triple Eight.

Feeney dominated the 2021 Super2 Series claiming five wins in nine completed races, and starred in a Bathurst wildcard with Russell Ingall, featuring in the top ten before crashing out late.

Feeney continued to turn heads in 2022 with a mature rookie campaign in the shadow of teammate Shane van Gisbergen’s utterly dominant 21-win season.

The Queenslander claimed his first podium in the fourth race of the season in Tasmania, and claimed a further podium at Sandown before his coming of age in the season finale.

Starting fourth for the season finale on the streets of Adelaide, Feeney jumped to the front after pitting early, and fended off a hard-charging Chaz Mostert to send off Holden in style and lock down sixth in the championship.