Davison hints at 2023 contract news

The veteran, widely understood to be out of contract, has been subject to silly season speculation that he could be replaced at Dick Johnson Racing by a younger driver.

As part of the speculation Will Brown has been linked to the #17 Shell Ford seat.

However Davison has been making his case on track with some sparkling form that included a first win since 2016 in Perth earlier this season.

He has also made his intention to continue racing beyond the current campaign abundantly clear.

As it stands, Davison is thought to be in the box seat to retain the DJR seat alongside Anton De Pasquale for the 2023 season.

Should he need options outside of DJR there could be available seats at Team 18, which is yet to re-sign Mark Winterbottom, and PremiAir Racing.

When quizzed on the matter by Motorsport.com, Davison said there is no news to report right now – but hinted that an announcement may not be far off.

"There's nothing to discuss at this moment, but my relationship is amazing with the team," he said. "We are a really close group and we're all just focused on working together now.

"Obviously, hopefully soon there will be an announcement or we'll be able to discuss my future.

"As of now, I've made it clear that I'm certainly going to continue driving. I don't feel even nearly ready to retire. I feel like I'm still getting better, especially this year as I grow with the team.

"I think it's pretty important that that continues, particularly going int0 an important era next year. I certainly don't want to be going anywhere."

Davison and the entire DJR team did see its solid 2022 form drop slightly last time out in Winton, which proved to be a tough event for the powerhouse Ford squad.

Davison only managed one Top 10 all weekend, a 10th in the third race, while De Pasquale led the way with a pair of eighths.

This weekend's trip to Darwin will provide a critical test for the team given it has been a happy hunting ground for DJR in the recent past.

According to Davison the team is confident heading to the Top End, while he also reckons DJR is judged harshly in the post-Scott McLaughlin/Penske era.

"We're really excited to get north and get back on track," he said.

"Winton was frustrating. We've gone to a lot of effort to try and understand the weekend. I think there were a factors involved in the weekend making it a unique one, but nonetheless, it was a disappointing weekend.

"But we haven't thrown the toys out the pram or got too emotional. We back ourselves and back our package.

"We've been pretty strong, pretty much everywhere. We cop a hard time, but that's generally because we've finished third or fourth. I think most teams would like to cop the criticism we cop for being on the front row and having a worst result of second and third. That's how we're judged.

"In this sport there are no free kicks anymore. There's no significant equipment advantage from anyone. It's how you perform on that weekend and Winton proves that it doesn't take much to all of a sudden look ordinary.

"Darwin, we're backing ourselves that we'll be strong. I'm looking forward to it because it hasn't been a fun few weeks since Winton."

Davison will celebrate his 500th race start in the first of three races in Darwin.

Track action kicks off this Friday.