Cameron Waters between Supercars and the Cup Series

After a difficult start to the Australian Supercars season, Cameron Waters finally managed to make it happen at the last race in Perth with a third place and a victory. The Tickford Racing driver finally sees his efforts rewarded. Very promising in qualifying, Waters was not spared from problems in the race. In 10 rounds contested, he only signed 2 podiums including only one victory. He pays for the delay accumulated by the Ford teams who have been struggling since the arrival of the new generation of Supercars. The Ford Mustangs suffer from a significant performance deficit compared to the Chevrolet Camaros. 

For the sake of fairness, the championship promoters authorized Ford to make up a little of this performance gap against the formidable Camaros which dominated last season. The Ford's return to form is obvious. We had to wait until the 9th race of the season to see a Mustang finally win in Supercars (victory for Chaz Mostert in race 1 of the Perth meeting). Waters is one of the best performers in qualifying since he has already taken 3 pole positions in 2024 (Melbourne, Taupo and Perth). Until his excellent weekend in Perth, the 29-year-old had not managed to transform these leading positions into a big result. Worse, he was even forced to retire during the Melbourne race while starting from pole. Matt Payne hit him following a driving error. With his victory and his podium, Waters is currently only eighth in the general classification. But it seems that his season finally seems to be underway. Tickford Racing is working hard to allow its driver duo to finally shine. Randle and Waters finally seem to benefit from the work the team has done. 

The charms of NASCAR

The Australian driver has already taken part in two Truck Series races this season (the 3rd step after the Cup and the Xfinity). He placed 30th in Nashville for his first time and 19th in Kansas for his second participation. The learning difficulty was intense for Waters who had everything to discover: “I also had to assimilate who was on the team and the environment of a race in the USA. Obviously understanding the tires was a big part of the job. You also need to understand how airflow works in the package. Dirty air is a real scourge, so you need to know how it influences the behavior of the car. This is something that must be understood quickly because on certain circuits it can be very disabling..” The end of the Kansas race was even eventful. Waters even crashing with another competitor. He tells this anecdote with the freshness of a young beginner: “ I discovered the importance of air lift even in truck series. I found myself next to Layne Riggs' #38 truck. Towards the end of the race he got between me and the wall and I lost all the lift I had gained from riding close to the wall. I had no other solution than to come and lean on him. It was typically a mistake on my part and I apologized to him when he came to see me at the end of the race. "  

WATER NASCAR LIVERY REVEALED

The colors of Cameron Waters' first NASCAR Cup Series car have been revealed.#Motorsport #NASCAR #NASCARCupseries #ford #Ford Mustang #CamWaters #Waters #RFKRacing #Sonoma pic.twitter.com/jrDWDsabeu

— Auto Action (@Auto_Action) May 15, 2024

Waters will therefore make the big jump, into the Cup Series, at the wheel of the number 60 Ford Mustang of RKF Racing, the team of Brad Keselowski (2012 champion and winner at Darlington a few weeks ago). Waters believes that his future seems clear in Nascar in cars which, according to his own words, have more meaning in his eyes. But for now, he remains focused on Australian Supercars: “I'm 100% in SuperCars, I want to win the championship but also win at Bathurst. This is my main activity, my daily work. In fact, in my head, I always try to find time to ride as much as possible. I do what I have to do in Supercars and whenever I have free time I try to fit in what comes my way. "

There will therefore be three representatives from the southern hemisphere at the Sonoma round on June 9: Cameron Waters, Shane van Gisbergen and Will Brown, the Supercars leader, in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Camaro.