WHAT’S that saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?

Perhaps there are slight undertones of it applying to Craig Lowndes’ next chapter as Supercheap Auto’s wildcard program begins its Team 18 era.

One of the first key announcements about their 2026 Tailem Bend and Bathurst campaign came this morning, as Lowndes reclaimed the #15 with which he’d started his ATCC/Supercars Championship career.

Over the years, Lowndes increasingly became associated with #888. In fact, it’s the number he has run in 456 of his past 457 main game races.

All the while, #15 became synonymous with another driver: Rick Kelly.

Lowndes and Kelly famously duked it out for the title 20 years ago, with the latter getting up in a controversial Phillip Island decider.

The first driver to sport #15 after Lowndes had done it so successfully in seasons 1996 and ’98 was actually Kelly’s older brother Todd.

‘TK’ used it across 1999-2002, initially in a Holden Young Lions entry and then under the Kmart Racing Team banner, picking up three race wins before signing with the Holden Racing Team.

That opened the door for Rick to take over the #15 seat, and they’ve been virtually inseparable ever since Adelaide 2003.

In fact, no driver in history has more ATCC/Supercars round starts with a particular car number than Rick Kelly’s 226 with the #15. That journey included the 2006 championship and stints with Holden, Nissan and Ford. #15 has not appeared in a race since Kelly’s retirement at the end of 2020.

Ironically, second on the aforementioned list (most starts by a driver with a certain number) is Lowndes’ 208 rounds with #888.

Craig Lowndes recently gave Will Brown his blessing to take over #888. Pic: Supplied

There is another Kelly/Lowndes parallel to observe with a view to 2026.

That is, that Team 18 will run its wildcard Camaro out of a transporter acquired from none other than Kelly Racing.

Team owners Charlie Schwerkolt and Todd Kelly struck a deal last year as KR prepared to withdraw from Super2.

Having never previously operated a third car, Team 18 had needed to find an additional transporter to complement its existing one that carries the squad’s full-time #18 and #20 Camaros.