The upcoming Virgin Australia Supercars Championship silly season is shaping up to be one of the silliest in the category's history.
Approximately half of the grid's drivers are set to come off contract, which could mean comprehensive chopping and changing in where drivers and sponsors fit into next year's pit-lane make-up.
But, no swap has been discussed more in the last month than the potential for Chaz Mostert to bump Fabian Coulthard out of a seat at the all-dominating DJR Team Penske.
After an underwhelming 2018 season, Coulthard has come out guns blazing in 2019. But that hasn't stopped pundits from suggesting Mostert could take the in-demand drive. And sightings of Mostert at the DJR Team Penske workshop in Queensland prior to the Winton round only fueled the theories.
But, after all the hubbub, there may be no change to the line-up anyway. Team boss Tim Cindric flew from America to last weekend's event at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin. And, he gave potentially the best hint yet that the driver line-up will be unchanged for next year.
“I think the guys we have are doing a good job and continue to push each other forward,” he said, speaking to Supercars.com.
“As far as when contracts end and all the rest of it, I don’t anticipate too much changing in the near future.”
The quote is brief, but more detailed than most of the tight-lipped statements from other team owners. For the record, Mostert has out-run Coulthard at seven of this year's 16 races thus far. He sits two spots back in the points standings, in fourth to Coulthard's second.
Both drivers can claim some loyalty points to the iconic DJR Team Penske team. Mostert raced for the team late in 2013, having been plucked out of the Development Series to replace Jonny Reid. Coulthard meanwhile has been with the squad since it first became a joint effort between former owner Dick Johnson and the Penske juggernaut.
Perhaps the real question to ask in all this is whether Scott McLaughlin will compete in the series for long. The points leader has made it plain that he wants to try racing in Ameria.
So, having the number of both Mostert and Coulthard might come in handy in more ways than one.