TODD Hazelwood’s splendid supersub showing in Darwin has earnt him an all-time ATCC/Supercars Championship record.

As has been well documented by now, Hazelwood filled in for an unwell Brodie Kostecki at the wheel of Dick Johnson Racing’s #17 entry on Sunday in Darwin.

His performance on short notice to qualify 13th and finish 12th has earnt Hazelwood plenty of praise, and rightly so judging by history.

MORE: The four-word mantra that drove Hazelwood heroics

Previously, the best result for a substitute driver not entered for the relevant race meeting belonged to Chris Pither.

That was from the Kiwi’s unexpected cameo on the Sunday of the 2019 Winton SuperSprint, when Garry Rogers Motorsport called on him to cover for Richie Stanaway.

Pic: an1images.com / Dirk Klynsmith

That came about after Stanaway battled neck pain during the Saturday race, and so the #33 ZB Commodore was handed over to his enduro co-driver Pither (who’d been in attendance for an additional driver practice session) for the following day.

From 25th and last on the grid, Pither raced through to 14th at the flag – coincidentally finishing one place ahead of Hazelwood!

Pither continued in the car at the subsequent Darwin round, with Michael Caruso doing the honours in Townsville and Ipswich before Stanaway returned at The Bend.

Other such mid-event driver swap results include but are not limited to:

Scott McLaughlin, 17th (2012 Sydney 500, subbing for Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Alex Premat)

Cooper Murray, 18th and 24th (2024 Adelaide 500, subbing for Erebus Motorsport’s Jack Le Brocq)

Dale Wood, 22nd (2024 Adelaide 500, subbing for Grove Racing’s Richie Stanaway)

Kai Allen, 22nd (2024 Adelaide 500, subbing for Grove Racing’s Richie Stanaway)

Mark Winterbottom, 22nd (2026 Darwin Triple Crown, subbing for Tickfod Racing’s Thomas Randle)

Of course, there have been other situations where a substitute driver was already entered in the race meeting and drove a different car, most notably when Allan Moffat drove Murray Carter’s Falcon to second position from the rear of the grid in the 1973 ATCC race at Adelaide International Raceway, after his car was stolen in the early hours of Sunday morning before the race.

Hazelwood will make a guest appearance on the newest episode of The Undercut, to be released tomorrow night.