It’s a funny old world V8 Supercars. Just when you think you know someone, like really know someone, they go and surprise you – such as when Russell Ingall and James Courtney bonded over Twitter and soy lattes.
And take our very own Jamie Whincup for example. Behind the wheel, he’s a fierce and relentless driving machine with four championships under his belt and a penchant for winning. Outside of the car however, it’s a different story. Well, same same but different. Because J-Dub, the boy behind the man behind the helmet, is every bit the thrill-seeker that Jamie Whincup is and every inch the champion, only he’s a heap more relaxed and a little more cheeky.
You might have met him at the Pukekohe press conference last week, where he emerged after a weekend of racing to give his brutally honest opinion on the coming together of the No.1 Red Bull car and that of rival Mark Winterbottom – twice.
Well, we managed to track J-Dub down yesterday, loading his wakeboards into his Malibu with a few mates, to see if he and Frosty had had a chance to, well, patch things up.
“Frosty has been getting angry, hasn’t he?” J-Dub says with a cheeky grin.
“But it’s all good fun I reckon and it’s good for the sport. Everyone’s saying it’s this big rivalry but it’s not quite like that. He did a dumb move in one of the races in New Zealand and we can’t have people getting around doing that. So of course, you’ve got to retaliate in the next one and as I said in my report, it’s not my style but it’s what has to be done sometimes unfortunately.”
Anyone else think J-Dub is starting to sound just a little like Uncle Chop-Chop?
“But look, it’s more of a hype-up for the press,” he says.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind the cars doing more of the talking so I wouldn’t have to. That will happen later in the year so until then, I’ll have to do the talking for myself.”
But the burning question remains: will there be a third and final deciding round in Barbagallo next week?
“Round three is purely up to Frosty,” J-Dub continues.
“If he wants to go toe-to-toe, I’m happy to. I’ll do that any day of the week without absolutely any dramas.
“But for me, it’s all over. It’s completely his decision whether he wants to continue this so-called rivalry or whatever it is. But if he doesn’t and just wants to get on with the racing, then that is what I’m going to be doing.
“But if he wants to hit me up, it’s going to come back to him again.”
There you have it, the lowdown on supposed tensions right from the bull’s mouth. If you want to hear more from J-Dub, let us know and we’ll see if we can’t schedule a chat in between his sky-diving appointments and muscle car restoration projects.
