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Topic
Trans-Am
Trans-Am is a racing series for sports cars. It’s one of the events drivers compete in, and here it’s the category that Todd stepped into after Brody couldn’t race.
Brand
Shelby Power Racing
Shelby Power Racing is a motorsport team/brand associated with racing drivers in this segment. The hosts mention it to identify the team behind Brody Kasticki, tying the driver’s situation to the team’s race weekend.
Term
dummy grid
A dummy grid is a practice or staged lineup before the real starting grid. It’s where teams and officials get things set up, and Todd found out he’d be stepping in there.
Brand
DJR pit
“DJR pit” refers to the pit area used by DJR (a racing team/operation) during the event. In this context, Todd Houselwood goes to the DJR pit after the race to get ready to take over for qualifying.
Term
pole
Pole position is the best starting spot at the very front of the race. If you’re close to pole, it means you qualified almost fastest, but not quite.
Term
shootout birth
A “shootout” in qualifying is a short, high-stakes session where the fastest drivers compete again to determine final grid positions. “Shootout birth” here means narrowly missing the cutoff needed to advance into that final qualifying showdown.
Car
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a sporty car made by Ford, usually as a coupe or convertible. People talk about it a lot because it’s built for performance and there are many ways to modify it. In the podcast, it’s mentioned in connection with a race or event.
Term
Pit Lane
Pit Lane is the special area next to the race track where the team can work on the car. The driver pulls in for things like tires or fuel, then goes back out when it’s time.
Term
seat pour
“Seat pour” sounds like a pre-race setup to make sure the driver fits properly in the racing seat. The goal is to feel secure and comfortable so you can focus on driving instead of adjusting yourself.
Term
steering wheel
The steering wheel is the main control you use to steer, but in a race it also affects what you can see. If you’re trying to look around it, it can make driving feel harder.
Concept
Enduro's coming up
An enduro is a longer race where you have to keep the car going for a long time. Teams usually plan for things like tires and fuel, and sometimes driver swaps.
Car
Toyota Supra
The Toyota GR Supra is a sports car made by Toyota that’s meant to be fast and fun to drive. The podcast mentions it because people were able to see the new version in person at an event. The “smoke” reference suggests something happened during driving, like a car making a lot of heat or leaving tire marks.
Place
Townsville
Townsville is where the next race is happening. The hosts think their cars work well there because the track’s layout and grip characteristics match what their team is good at.
Term
high-deck circuit
A “high-deck circuit” is a track that has a more elevated or pronounced layout/surface feel compared to others. That can change how the car grips and how stable it feels, so teams adjust their setup to match.
Place
Sydney Motorsport Park
Sydney Motorsport Park is a race track in Australia. When they mention it here, they’re talking about what happened during a race weekend at that specific track.
Topic
press
Here, “the press” just means the journalists and media talking about the race. They’re saying they’re not paying attention to it and focusing on the work instead.
Term
safety car
A safety car is a car that comes out to slow everyone down when the track isn’t safe. It can change how the race ends, especially if it happens near the finish.
LIVE
A Listener production.
From last-minute driver call-ups to team manager takeouts,
this is a snapshot of storylines at the end of another sensational
supercar's weekend in the Northern Territory.
Good day, everybody. Rusty here.
Welcome to the Motorsport Brief, our garage broadcast.
Now, we have just released in recent days our latest feature episode
with Todd Houselwood.
It is a beauty.
Tupata recorded just before he left Brisbane for Darwin,
where he was racing Trans-Am.
And when we got to the top end, Todd filled in on the track to town,
which was kind of our first indication that the Shelby Power Racing
star driver, his good mate Brody Kasticki, was battling a virus.
And I think it was an issue with a straw in his helmet,
either being partly blocked or constricted,
that ultimately meant that he wasn't getting good flow of vital fluids
in the 200K Saturday race in that Darwin heat.
Now, after checks with the medics on Saturday night,
Todd Houselwood was drafted in on Sunday.
He actually found out on the dummy grid for Trans-Am,
then bolted up to the DJR pit after that race,
quickly looked at a bit of Brody's, jumped in a Kasticki suit
and headed out for qualifying.
He was only 0.28 of pole, just missing out on a shootout birth,
which I reckon is pretty impressive.
He started 13th with no prior running, really.
He finished 12th in that Sunday race and on balance,
that is worth applauding because, as he told Speed Cafe,
he was battling a little bit of numbness in his foot
and a clutch issue too.
You will enjoy Todd's feature ep.
Now, speaking of late call-ups, Mark Winterbottom was busy
with TV or broadcast duties when Tickford asked him
to sub for Thomas Randall, who'd had a cool suit fail early
on Saturday, which kind of knocked him around.
He was able to take part Thomas in Sunday qualifying,
who was then reassessed by Dr Karl and the supercars'
medical team, and that's when a decision was made
that he would take no further part in things.
Frosty into the Kastrol Mustang for the race.
Well, we go to dinner on Saturday night,
and what wasn't on the bingo card was getting a call up to go.
Racing today.
Tell me about when you found out and what sort of transpired.
I wouldn't say this is the best prep I've ever had,
Rusty for an event, but obviously,
Thomas went out, Randall, in qualifying,
and often you think the adrenaline's going to get you
through and whatnot, and he pulled up really sore,
so then he got the call, but then I was still doing TV duties,
so I was on the grid with Super 2 and then got the call.
So it was at one o'clock or something like that.
I got the approval and we drove out of Pit Lane at two o'clock,
so hence not getting to do a seat pour and all that sort of stuff
to be comfy, but anyway, I tried to survive,
but I've never been more uncomfortable in a race car,
but it was a lot of fun.
If you ever go to a race track,
you always take your helmet and race suit,
you never know, do you?
And today it paid off, but yeah, it was good fun.
I had a lot of fun out there.
Were you compromised with anything else
or you had everything else you needed here
from a boots, gloves, suit point of view?
Just the ability, I think I left in Melbourne, Rusty,
but no, I had everything here, but just the insert,
like that insert I missed because I looked at,
normally I look over the steering wheel and for 69.9 laps,
I was looking, trying to look over a steering wheel,
so I can't make excuses, like excuse me, but I could not.
Couldn't not see anything, so.
But now, good head out, good experience,
and obviously with Enduro's coming up,
that's pretty valuable stuff, but I did stall in the pits
and then I couldn't start it, but again, my feet,
I was all over the place, so anyway, it was good fun.
I had fun and that was the main thing.
You feel all right coming out of them
and the sudden nature of doing all that?
I know you're kind of prepping for the Enduro's anyway,
but was it taxing, what was it like?
I always take two penne at all before I go out,
so I'm all right, like, I don't know.
I watch all these guys hop out the car
and obviously when things fail, but I train pretty hard.
I still back myself even at 45,
that'll give these guys a run in the gym and in fitness.
If we want to come back tomorrow, I'm happy to race.
I'll have a bit more prep, I can do a lot better,
so I'm happy to race Monday, but I feel good.
It's physically, you know, they're tough to drive,
but all the muscle memory was kicking in.
I was actually, yeah, getting down.
So when the flag came out, I'm like,
oh, come on, give me a few more laps.
Now, I feel good.
It's actually physically, that car's actually really cool
and I felt really good, so I'm ready to go.
Excellent, just quick thoughts on how much you're enjoying
the broadcast side of things so far this year.
I was kind of sensing you that you are learning a lot,
but also in the same breath, really enjoying it too.
Oh, it's a great team, great group of people
and you get to talk about something you love.
So, you know, I've really enjoyed it
and it's nice to be at race tracks too
and not probably be the enemy to people.
You're the friend and it's a different vibe
because ultimately you start motorsport because you love it
and then when you race, everyone's the enemy.
It's a really bad nature that you build
and then when you commentate,
actually it's nice to see people
because we've all got something common
and I'm seeing good in people
that probably I thought was the enemy when I raced them.
So, I've really enjoyed it and it's a great sport
which is a privilege to keep coming back
and to be involved, so I've loved it.
Finally, they did share a little bit
on the socials of the group chat,
which is a private thing for the TV crew.
What did you say, any tips, which way is the track go?
What did you say on the?
Oh, I was just talking rubbish, just widen up a bit
and then I think Briney wrote back,
we can't wait to get my new merch.
So, she bought in, but clearly nothing's driving in life.
Is it rusty?
So, nah, I was having fun with it
and literally one o'clock, you're calling a super two race
and then like 120, I'm on the scales,
130, I'm gonna drive this brief.
140, I'm trying to find where my earpieces are
for my helmet.
150, I've got six cushions in the seat
and two o'clock I'm driving at a bit late, so go figure.
Right, that's stuff, mate, thanks for chatting with us.
Thanks, Rosty.
Frosty's teammate, Cam Waters,
was fast all weekend at Hidden Valley
and ultimately won his first Darwin Triple Crown.
This event was the first chance for Territorians
to see the new GR Supra in the flesh,
but smoke from Chaz's car late in Sunday's race
while running seventh meant a heartbreaking retirement.
Walk and Sure, TWG CEO, Bruce Stewart,
just couldn't hide his disappointment here.
I was gutted for you all.
I could tell the way you had your eyes closed
toward the end there.
Do you know what's gone wrong here?
We don't, we don't yet.
And we'll get it back as quickly as we can
and diagnose what happened and go to work.
You know, this is always gonna be hard
and certainly not a very good poker player.
So I think I probably showed my cards here a bit,
but we're a great team and you know,
we've got very, very clever people.
We're working very hard on building the reliability
in our engines and in that respect,
again, we got to work.
We work hard.
We work through the issues methodically.
We've achieved a lot in a short period of time,
but the highs and lows in the sport, Rusty, are just,
well, anyway, in that respect,
we've got good people.
These places run on people and everyone's resolute.
We're gonna fix this, you know, little tweak in our armor
and ensure that we make a robust system going forwards,
but there are no silver bullets.
I mean, was it one of those things
where you knew early on in the race
or was it quite sudden?
Yeah, it seemed very sudden.
You know, I'd be lying if I indicated anything else.
It looked like a seventh and eighth
and just was where we were at in this respect.
And it just caught us all.
Like I can sense in you the sting
and I reckon the sting is compounded by the success
that you've had relatively early on.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, that's a very good analogy
because you know, we're a very proud team, you know,
we've got the SuperGars champion
and you know, there've been a long time
between drinks in that respect.
So there's an expectation within the whole crew
and the team that, you know, we race to win.
And so it compounds it, you know,
because, you know, seventh and eighth was solid,
but not where we would want to be and expect to be.
And in that respect, it was just a little bit of a,
not a little bit, a lot of a punch in the guts in the end.
Can we get a look ahead to Townsville then
whether you feel like that's the kind of place
that might suit you guys?
And just generally on the performance of Woody
and, you know, Milestone weekend here for Chairs, obviously.
So one of the really good things
and things we're proud of in our team is
we don't have tracks that are good for us or bad for us.
And we go everywhere and expect to be very, very competitive
and we've got great crew, an amazing crew,
great engineers and great drivers, amazing drivers as well.
So, yeah, we expect to be very competitive.
In that respect, even the crew had done a lot of training
and preparation for that and a little bit of heat,
dress training.
And I just spoke to the crew chief, Carl Bankier and Kiwi,
which you and I would be proud of.
And he said, you know, the crew generally are much better neck,
you know, and so I'm really proud of how much everyone puts in.
Got a really, really amazing group of people, you know?
So I love that and this team.
So we'll get through all of our challenges, you know, watch us.
You know, final one, the boys roll out of it.
You know, it was so taxing heat-wise here.
I've just seen Woody walking by some moment ago.
Chairs looks all right too.
They've rolled out of it.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, they're both very good.
They both do a lot of training and in that respect, you know,
yeah, they're both in very good neck
and you can see Chairs is in there getting around the crew.
We're just fantastic and Woody's over there as well.
So love that, you know, yeah,
they're not going to be thinking about themselves
or getting around everyone.
That's how a team works.
There's no one individual.
It's not about any single person.
It's about everyone as a collective.
And that's a cool thing.
I know there was some champagne in New Zealand,
maybe not here this weekend in Darwin,
but there will be more before the years out, might go well.
I have no doubt there'll be champagne in the future,
but right now we're going to just work through our challenges,
prepare ourselves for Townsville
and build a stronger team and a stronger car.
And that's all we can do.
This is a hard project.
This is a tough sport.
There are, you know, fierce competitors
and races up and down the pit lane.
So do you think that we'll just come and swamp everyone
or, you know, do anything in a miracle way?
It's just pretty arrogant and not how we behave.
So, yeah, we're going to get to Townsville
and put our best foot forward.
And, yeah, I guess I'm a little bit lost for words.
Still sort of probably stunned a bit,
but I appreciate the chat.
I know it hurts. Go well up there.
Thanks, Rusty. Good on you, mate. Go Kiwi.
We'll continue our Darwin debrief in just a few moments
here on Rusty's Garage.
This is the Motorsport Brief.
A quick selection of topical chats recorded in Darwin
after round six wrapped up.
I was actually up in that part of the world
working for the event organisers,
and we learned over the course of the week or so there
that they will be racing under lights in 2027
at Hidden Valley. That is going to be really cool.
In the midst of those headlines,
Matt Payne moved to shut down talk about his future,
issuing a statement confirming his commitment
to penright racing.
Here's team owner Stephen Grove on that,
another impressive performance from Kai Alland in the top end,
and how their collective effort
on an unusually sub-par weekend for rivals at Red Bull
saw the Grove squad take the team's championship lead
heading into Townsville.
I reckon there's lots of positives to take out of this weekend,
now that we've had, you know, an hour or so to debrief it all.
How are you feeling?
Yeah, listen, it's been a great weekend.
We've had some really good results.
Race win for another. Kai.
You know, there, it was just a bit unlucky in the pit stop.
We probably missed a few seconds there,
but, you know, that happens,
and we still had a strong finish.
The main thing is we're still there in the team's championship.
I've taken the tape measure over, I've measured up.
I know where all my furniture's going,
so in Townsville, we're moving in.
Kai, I like that.
Well, I mean, that's a great thing to kind of talk about, isn't it?
That, you know, we have that evolution every round now,
and you've come out of this in a good position.
Listen, it's an upside for both of us.
We push them.
They'll develop.
Like last year, they were that far in the team's championship
during the year.
It'll make them develop and work harder.
We'll work harder. They'll work harder.
It's just good for both of us to have that really strong competitiveness.
We want to obviously beat them in a very friendly way,
because they're a really, you know, great team
and a lot of respect to them,
but they will have to work harder,
and we will then have to work harder,
and we'll continue to work hard each other for the end of the year,
but it'll make us two great teams.
The young fella, I think I said to you separately today,
you know, it was nice to see him get a didgeridoo here last year.
It felt like, not a breakout moment.
That's not the right word.
Maybe, you know, really sort of showed the paddock that he'd arrived,
but I feel like that was even another level here this year.
Yeah, he's very good at now.
I mean, we forget he's only a year and a few rounds in,
you know, five or six whatever rounds we're in.
So he's a year and a half in, you know,
a season and a half of a season.
He is very, very good.
Like he is exceptionally good.
So we've just got to continue to work through the process with him,
continue to give him a good car, continue to develop him.
And he's just a great kid and he's 21 on Friday.
Amazing. I mean, that's the reality check and all of that is wild.
Yeah. And he just fits our culture and he fits our team.
And he's the hardest work and race car driver I've ever seen,
to be quite honest.
I mean, he just loves that he's always on the sim.
He's always doing stuff.
So he's just going to develop and develop and develop.
And we need to keep to give him the good car
so he can go and do what he needs to do.
Finally on Matt, I mean, he obviously took to the press this week
and clarified some things.
You guys have clarified some things.
I mean, was it a concerted effort on both sides here
just to go racing into kind of park?
That's...
Yeah, 100% because there could have been a lost opportunity
if one of us, you know, our side or their side,
you know, went in a different direction.
He's as focused as winning a championship.
Our relationship has been spot on through this whole thing.
Matt and I and the team are spot on.
So, I mean, there's external parties that have done what they needed,
what they thought they needed to do.
But we're driven to win a championship this year
and win a championship next year.
In 28, could he drive with us potentially?
Could he not drive with us?
I don't know. Will he go overseas?
He's good enough to do that.
I mean, he is good enough to do that.
He is a very, very talented driver.
But we just wanted to get everybody back on the same page.
So let's win the championship this year.
Let's win the team's championship.
Let's go back to back in 27.
And then the world will be what the world will be
and we'll support him in whatever he decides.
Finally, both drivers look like they've rolled out of it.
Pretty good. Cars are in great shape in that few weeks between now
and Townsville.
It looks like you've got a good launch pad for that.
Yeah, we think we have. We like Townsville.
It's a high-deck circuit.
Seems to suit us as well.
Our drivers are driving well.
We go with the...our trucks go all the way back to Melbourne,
rebuild the cars, put them back, bring them back,
and we'll go as hard as humanly possible to try and win.
Thanks for chatting to us. Any time. Take care.
For the final word from Darwin, we go to team 18's Adrian Burgess.
Now, Charlie Schwerkolt, who owns the squad,
was understandably proud of Anton Deeper Squali's win on Sunday
and kind of took the opportunity to hit back at criticism
of the Chev Homolegation squad in recent weeks,
particularly from Hall of Famer Mark Scaf on motor racing 360.
ATB seems here like he wanted to let the result speak for itself,
pointing out the satisfaction in perfect pit stops and strategy,
along with brilliant execution by Anton behind the wheel.
I need to get you on for a proper full-length chat,
but that one must feel pretty good today.
Oh, yeah, look, they always feel good.
They come very few and far between,
unfortunately, you do them all losing the winning,
but yeah, that was great.
The team executed a perfect race and got a car in the front two rows,
which is what you always try and do in Quali,
and Anton just, yeah, you know what can you say,
just a faultless race, perfect, didn't put a mark on it,
just did exactly what we needed and controlled it,
looked after his tyres, there's always something in reserve,
so yeah, it was perfect.
Was it one of those things where, sort of Sunday morning,
you thought, you know, once we'd gotten through qualifying
and stuff that you remember with a good chance here,
it's been a tough weekend from a heat,
and it's certainly a competitive standpoint.
The numbers in qualifying, the differences have been ridiculous,
but did it feel a bit like that?
Yeah, like I think we go every weekend now,
knowing we've got a chance, you've just got to execute.
And, you know, Friday, we stuck out in the front row on Friday,
but we probably got a bit greedy with the strategy
and we were pushing for the win,
as opposed to sitting behind Brody,
and then that strategy was the wrong one, you know,
and we ended up on the wrong side of it,
so we were a little bit upset with ourselves Friday night,
but then we really dropped the ball Saturday morning
with our qualifying set up,
but then drove a great race back in the afternoon,
so today we knew it would be good on the soft tyre
and we just needed to put a good day together,
which the boys did.
What's this kind of mean?
Being a whilst in Sydney Motorsport Park,
a lot of talking in the press about different things,
is that just one to, sort of, quietly say that,
what does it mean?
It's just one of those, like, whatever goes on in the press,
we're not reading, we're not bothered about it,
we're just getting on, doing our job,
and focusing on the day-to-day,
and focusing on executing it as well as we can at our next event,
and we'll let all those other experts do all the comments.
What was the final few laps like when Chazzy had the moment,
I could see Charlie puffing and looking pretty nervous?
What was the last little bit like?
Well, it was the last thing we wanted, was the safety car,
but, you know, and you don't want to finish races under the safety car,
it's not great for TV, it's not good for the fans,
you'd rather win it the real way,
but, like, I think we've done all the hard work,
and I don't think anyone will begrudge us that one,
but, yeah, look, we didn't want a safety car,
luckily it came close enough to the end
that we had to finish behind it, so, yeah, we got the trophy.
You're typically not one for kind of making, you know,
Super Bowl predictions or things like that,
but as we go into Townsville and then the rest of the year,
you know, we're at a point now,
or things are a bit compressed in a point sense,
what are you thinking for the back end of the year
with this team?
Yeah, we just got to keep doing what we've been doing,
we're fifth in the teams, we don't want to be there,
we want to be higher up than that,
and we want to be doing more of what we did today,
and that's what we're working towards.
We had Davey on pole in Townsville last year,
so, you know, and we had a podium with Anton on the Friday, I think,
so, you know, there's no reason why we shouldn't go to each event,
you know, looking at trophies,
and, but, when you look at the competition now, I mean, bloody hell,
there's some serious teams and serious drive accommodations there,
so the competition in the series at the moment,
I can't remember it being this high,
so, to do that, what you did today,
and anytime you do that, or anytime you're on a podium,
you've had a good day.
Lastly, the boys have rolled out of this, OK,
we know how tough Darwin can be, and after the 100,
then two 200k races, how are they?
Yeah, they're all good, good as gold, cool suits are fine,
no problem with that, boys.
Good luck in Townsville. Cheers, mate.
That's it for this edition.
Supercars hit Townsville in Queensland July 10-12,
just under three weeks from now,
for what they're calling the thrill in the Ville,
and if you enjoyed Darwin, the Shannon Speed Series is there next month,
July 24-26.
In September, it's MXGP World Motorcross.
That was a huge thing last year, big turnout for their final round.
You can find out more about that on mxgpastradia,
all one word, dot com, dot au.
We will catch you next time, everybody.
Bye for now.
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About this episode
Darwin’s weekend recap kicks off with Trans-Am chaos: Brody Kasticki’s virus triggers a late call-up, and Todd Houselwood is drafted in on Sunday—just 0.28 off pole. The Supercars debrief follows, with medical decisions and suit/clutch issues reshuffling entries, including Frosty stepping into the Kastrol Mustang. Drivers then share what enduro prep feels like, from visibility discomfort to pit-stall no-start drama. Hidden Valley also gets a Darwin Triple Crown highlight, plus talk of upcoming Townsville dates and even night racing in 2027.
Original notes
From last minute driver call ups to team manager take outs this is a snapshot of story lines at the end of another sensational Supercars weekend in the Northern Territory.
How Mark Winterbottom suddenly ended up racing at Hidden Valley while his Tickford stablemate Thomas Randle recovered from a brutal Saturday.
What went wrong for Walkinshaw TWG’s Chaz Mostert almost within sight of the finish - a candid chat with their CEO Bruce Stewart who reckons he needs to work on his poker face.
Penrite Racing’s Stephen Grove joins us for the first time after moving to the top of the ladder in the Teams championship just days after star driver Matt Payne shut down conversation about his future.
And Team 18’s Adrian Burgess on letting Anton De Pasquale’s win speak for itself despite heavy criticism of the GM homologation squad in the lead-up.
Rusty was on location working for Tourism and Events Northern Territory. He spoke with today’s guests after round 6 of the Repco Supercars Championship wrapped up.
Head to Rusty's Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and give us your feedback and let us know who you want to hear from on Rusty's Garage.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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