Motorsport: Ford turns guns on Triple Eight traitors

Blue Oval fans are less than amused at Triple Eight Racing's move to Holden for next season. Photo / Getty Images

ISPWICH - A cheeky merchandise deal painting leading drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup as traitors was so successful at this weekend's Queensland 300 that Ford have plans to ramp it up for the rest of the V8 Supercars season.

It doesn't take much to stoke the Holden-Ford rivalry.

And Ford drivers Whincup and Lowndes appeared to pour petrol on the feud with their mid-series bombshell that they would switch to Holden next year.

After the pair copped plenty of hate mail from the Blue Oval faithful, Ford further ruffled feathers at Ipswich at the weekend with their controversial merchandise offer.

Fans were offered an official Ford hat for just $10 if they traded in caps from Triple Eight Racing - Lowndes and Whincup's current team.

To add further drama, Ford had wheelie bins set up on site for hats to be collected under the banner: "Don't be a Tr888or, be True Blue - Trade in your Triple Eight hat for $10".

More than 900 hats were handed in, prompting Ford to extend the offer until the end of the V8 Supercars season and other merchandise could be involved.

Triple Eight manager Roland Dane, who removed Ford badges from his Falcons when factory funding was removed this year, said it was "no cause for concern".

"Most were hats from two, three, four years ago - I think about five caps handed in were from the current (Triple Eight) team," he said.

The drama did not seem to throw Whincup and Lowndes at the Queensland 300.

Whincup won race one on Saturday to ensure he extended his championship lead over Holden rival Will Davison to 183 points after nine of the 15 rounds.

And Lowndes finished second behind Davison in race two on Sunday to remain in championship contention.

Try as he might though to ignore the issue, Lowndes seemed to be reminded of the "defection" everywhere he went - including the post-race press conference on Sunday.

Holden veteran Russell Ingall - third in race two on Sunday - couldn't help himself when he was asked to assess the day's result.

"It was fantastic for Holden, going 1-2-3 - oh, sorry Craig," Ingall laughed.

"You are not with Holden yet, are you? " All seem to have forgotten he is simply returning home, having driven Holdens from 1994 until his traitorous shift to Ford in 2001.

He won championships for Holden in 1996, 1998 and 1999.

- AAP