[ad_1]
Delighted, Dick Johnson watched from his Gold Coast home as Scott McLaughlin clinched the 2020 Supercar Championship title at The Bend.
Johnson, Queensland-based team co-owner Ryan Story and American partner Roger Penske were not present at recent events due to travel and personnel restrictions.
The team’s 10th Australian Touring Car / Supercar Championship title comes in its 40th year of operation, having been officially founded in 1981.
Johnson won five pilot titles, in 1981, ’82, ’84, ’88 and ’89, before hired gunmen John Bowe (’95), James Courtney (2010) and McLaughlin were added to the account.
The team was on the brink of collapse on several occasions before the majority takeover of Penske before the 2015 season.
It has been a dominant force since McLaughlin and engineering genius Ludo Lacroix teamed up in 2017.
Johnson and his wife Jill shared their joy over the latest success in a story connection video posted on social media shortly after the end of today’s race.
“It’s been a great three years, I can assure you,” Johnson said.
“When you get three championships in a row, almost four…. Scotty has been magnificent, also Fabs [Fabian Coulthard] too.
“It’s something you dream of, but dreams sometimes come true.”
Speaking in Fox Sports After the race, McLaughlin declared the latest win the best of his three, citing the challenges created by the pandemic.
McLaughlin has been strongly linked to a future in the US IndyCar Series, while Penske has yet to confirm its plans for the Supercars team beyond 2020.
