Declan Fraser Lands Surprise Super2 Seat with Matt Stone Racing at Sandown 500

Declan Fraser is set to make an unexpected return to the Dunlop Super2 Series grid at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, linking up with Matt Stone Racing on short notice.

The 2022 Super2 champion steps into the seat vacated by Tommy Smith, who is expected to transition to Ford outfit Anderson Motorsport. Smith will maintain ties with Matt Stone Racing through his ongoing commitments in the TA2 Muscle Car Series.

speedcafe.com: Former PremiAir Racing driver Declan Fraser. Image: EDGE Photographics/Jack Martin

Late Call-Up Marks Super2 Return

Fraser's appearance marks his first start in the development category since his 2022 title-winning campaign, where he defeated Zak Best to claim the crown. It also represents a return to a Holden ZB Commodore for the first time since partnering Craig Lowndes as a Triple Eight wildcard entry at the 2022 Bathurst 1000.

According to Speedcafe, the Sandown arrangement is currently confirmed only for the upcoming endurance round on the Supercars undercard.

The sudden opportunity comes less than a month after Fraser was dropped by Supercars outfit PremiAir Racing in favour of Cooper Murray. Fraser has since sought fresh racing mileage, having debuted in the Motorcraft Mustang Cup Australia at Sandown just last weekend.

Team and Driver Reactions

Matt Stone expressed appreciation for Smith's contributions while welcoming Fraser's wealth of experience ahead of the Sandown meeting.

“We thank Tommy for his efforts with MSR and wish him all the best as he takes on this new opportunity to test out Ford machinery with another Super2 team,” Stone told Speedcafe. “It’s great that Declan was able to step in with such short notice, he has a lot of experience and no doubt will be a great addition.”

Fraser welcomed the chance to get straight back into competitive Supercars machinery.

“I feel extremely privileged to have received the call from Matt and the team at MSR saying they need a driver for the weekend. The racer in me doesn’t need to be asked twice,” Fraser said. “The competitor in me wants to go out there to win it... The reality is we won’t know where we’re at until we get into the first phases of the weekend to see what sort of pace we have.”

Challenges Ahead at Sandown

While Fraser is familiar with the Holden ZB Commodore, the short-notice nature of the opportunity presents a challenge. He said he would work with MSR’s engineers to extract speed from the car and turn that into results for the team.