Whincup says replacement will be named this month

The seven-time series champ is set to hang up his helmet, at least as a full-timer, at the end of the season as he moves into the team boss role at Triple Eight Race Engineering.

That will free up one of the top seats in the category, with a fresh face set to get a shot at the #88 Red Bull entry.

After months of speculation regarding Whincup's replacement, it appears an announcement is not far away.

Speaking with the official Supercars website, Whincup today revealed that his replacement will be named by the end of August.

"We're not far away," he told Supercars Media broadcaster Chad Neylon. "We'll let everyone know who my replacement is before the end of the month. So watch this space."

A Triple Eight spokesperson confirmed separately to Motorsport.com that the announcement will be made in the coming weeks.

Triple Eight has made little in the way of driver movements since signing Whincup to partner Craig Lowndes 15 years ago.

The pair led T8's charge together up until the end of the 2015 season, when Shane van Gisbergen was signed to partner Whincup and Lowndes was effectively shifted into a third T8 entry.

The team then scaled back to two cars when Lowndes retired from full-time driving at the end of the 2018 season.

Teenager Broc Feeney, who drives for Triple Eight in the second-tier Super2 series, is regarded as the overwhelming favourite to make a sensational main series debut in the #88.

The 18-year-old is currently leading the Super2 standings and will partner Russell Ingall in a T8-run wildcard entry at the Bathurst 1000 in November.

The pair kicked off testing last week, Ingall admitting he'll be looking to impart his experience on Feeney, rather than trying to help him drive faster.