By Matthew Agius
Paul Weel Racing is no more, or at least that will be the situation after the Dunlop Grand Finale at Phillip Island in December, after it was revealed that Team Principal Kees Weel will sell his licences at the conclusion of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship.
Kees Weel has overseen the operation of Paul Weel Racing since it began contesting the championship in 1998 in a single car team running an EL Falcon. The team continued to run Fords until the end of 2002 when it defected to Holden under the guise of Team Brock, before re-branding itself as PWR Racing in 2004, and then as Supercheap Auto Racing since 2005.
Weel will pursue overseas interests with his performance products business as of next year, whilst team members will be forced to look across pit lane for new employment.
Prospects are not grim for PWR personnel, with rival operation Walkinshaw Performance advertising new positions as it prepares to expand to a clientele of three main level teams in 2008, with Brad Jones Racing set to announce its defection to Walkinshaw's Holden stable for next season.
Drivers Paul Dumbrell and Cameron McConville are also set to suit up for new teams, both seemingly unaffected by the shut down of operations at Dandenong.
Dumbrell, the current driver of the #20 Supercheap Auto VE Commodore, is expected to jump brands to Ford in 2008. He is likely to become James Courtney's new teammate at Stone Brothers Racing, as incumbent Russell Ingall also prepares to move on, moving back to Holden at Paul Morris Motorsports.
McConville is shaping up as the likely candidate to spearhead Brad Jones Racing's new operation at Holden in the aforementioned Walkinshaw deal. If true, he will pair up with former teammate Andrew Jones in Commodores for 2008.
The closure of PWR frees up two more slots for 2008, with a number of Fujitsu Series teams including Tony D'Alberto Racing, Ford Rising Stars and Howard Racing all expressing interest in stepping up to the top level of V8 Supercar racing.
The Falken Triple Challenge at Symmons Plains will be Paul Weel Racing's penultimate championship round.
