The seven-time Supercars champ – each and every title having come as a Triple Eight driver – joins majority shareholder Roland Dane and minority owners Tim Miles, Paul Dumbrell, and Jessica Dane as equity partners in the powerhouse squad.

According to Whincup, the move is part of plan to properly join the management structure of the team once he hangs up the helmet.

“I joined Triple Eight a long time ago and have had a fantastic career as a driver, but any athlete getting towards the end of their career is faced with this daunting thing of what to do afterwards,” he said.

“There's two things I am very certain about. One, I love motorsport and, two, I love this organisation and the people within it, and I want to continue that for a long time to come.

“I'm making a stepping stone this year, I've been accepted by the current Triple Eight shareholders to become a shareholder myself.

“That doesn't guarantee me anything, that gives me an opportunity to learn the business and see if I can still be an asset here well past my driving career.”

Whincup is currently contracted as a driver until the end of the 2019 Supercars, and says he'll be in the car for at least a year beyond that before considering a move into a management role.

“I'm still going to be driving for at least another two years and I'm absolutely going to make sure that my full focus is on driving the car and showcasing what we do here at Triple Eight to the best of my ability,” he said.

“But in the background, I'll start the journey of understanding what this team's all about, understanding what Supercars is all about, understanding a little bit of what TV-land is all about.

“If I do a good job and work really hard, hopefully I create a position for myself when I hang the helmet up.”

Dane, who started Triple Eight's Supercars journey back in 2003, is confident that a bringing Whincup into the line-up of equity partners is the right call.

"Jamie has proved over the years that he is a team player and has Triple Eight’s best interests at heart," he said.

"Just as in racing, it’s vital in business to be planning ahead for every scenario and the boys and girls here at Triple Eight recognise that he potentially has a lot to offer in this respect.

“Jamie and I have been working on a plan for him to come into the business side of the team for a few years, so to see this start to come to fruition now is very satisfying.

"I’ve no doubt he’ll put every effort into learning as much as he can about the running of Triple Eight to make sure that his contribution is valuable.”