V8 Supercars champion welcomes Penske entry

V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup of Red Bull Racing Australia during the Sydney Motorsport Park 400. Photo / EDGE Photographics

American motorsport giant Roger Penske's decision to enter next year's V8 Supercars championship has been hailed by Jamie Whincup.

The five-time V8s champion says Penske's decision to partner with Ford legend Dick Johnson in a team led by Marcos Ambrose could be a game-changing moment for the Australian championship.

Ambrose, a two-time V8s champion, will return home after eight years racing in the United States backed by the financial might of Penske, whose drivers have won 15 Indianapolis 500s.

Whincup says the situation bears similarity to the arrival of his boss and Red Bull Racing owner Roland Dane, who came to Australia in 2003 to conquer V8s after several years of success in British touring cars.

"They see it as a challenge. Those blokes don't do anything by halves," Whincup told AAP. "They're going to bring a lot to the table and, I've got to say, if the result of that is they raise the bar of the category, that's fantastic.

"At the end of the day, deep down, we do want competition, we do want people innovating, which forces us to step up and work harder."

Whincup dismissed talk of a rivalry between him and 38-year-old Ambrose, who headed to the United States in 2006, just as Whincup's rise to the top of V8s was underway.

He says the 2003 and 2004 champion was someone he respected and looked up to.

"I was a huge fan, I really enjoyed the way he went about his racing and how good the guy was back in '03 and '04 when I was just getting into the category," he said.

"It's not like I'm going to be focused on him next year. I wish him all the best ... the best thing that could happen is he raises the game of the category. That'd be awesome."

-AAP