RFK Racing Bringing Back #Stage60 Program at Sonoma for Supercars Standout Cam Waters

RFK Racing is bringing its #Stage60 program back to the racetrack for the second time this season, announcing Tuesday that 11-time Supercars winner Cam Waters will pilot the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse at Sonoma Raceway.

The 29-year-old racer will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut in the June 9 event, which comes several weeks after making a pair of starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with ThorSport Racing at Martinsville Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

During the second road course event of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, BuildSubmarines.com will highlight AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Waters is universally known as one of the most versatile drivers in the world. He is the only driver to have won both the Australia Formula Ford Championship and the Supercars Development Series, and brings to the United States a lengthy resume with Tickford Racing in Melbourne.

"This opportunity for me is a dream come true, and one that I do not take lightly given the global audience of NASCAR and the Cup Series," said Waters. "I've been fortunate to dip my toes into the NASCAR waters a bit this year and am excited to put my road-racing experience to the test this summer. It takes a village to make something like this come to fruition, so I especially want to thank the team at BuildSubmarines.com and AUKUS for giving me this opportunity to highlight the AUKUS security partnership, and for all the efforts at RFK to pull this off."

Since beginning his full-time tenure in Australian Supercars in 2016, Waters has accumulated 11 victories, nearly 50 podiums, and 24 career pole positions. The Victoria-native currently represents the Ford Performance camp as driver of the No. 6 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford Racing, and holds the record for the youngest driver to compete in the Bathurst 1000, an event in which he has secured three consecutive podium finishes in.

AUKUS enhances a long-standing alliance and helps to fortify the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific region. The AUKUS partners are working together to deliver a sovereign conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability to Australia through a three-nation collaborative process involving training, production, and technology integration. The first Australian submarines will be acquired through the sale of United States Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, followed by the construction of a new class of submarines in both the UK and Australia. This initiative not only improves global security but also creates jobs in all three nations, paving the way for a more secure and prosperous future.

“The AUKUS agreement adds even more stability to the well-paying skilled trades careers available at more than 15,000 companies making up America’s Submarine Industrial Base,” said Kiley Wren, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at BlueForge Alliance, owner of BuildSubmarines.com.

“We’re privileged to team up with RFK Racing through #Stage60 to raise awareness of these opportunities and the remarkable purpose behind them. Having a stand-out Australian driver behind the wheel of the No. 60 ‘Car With a Mission’ in Sonoma further amplifies this cause, and we look forward to seeing Cam Waters do what he does best.”

The #Stage60 program first debuted in the NASCAR Cup Series earlier this year, when David Ragan piloted the No. 60 Ford Mustang in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, finishing 20th.

“Cam has certainly logged his share of miles the last couple of months flying back and forth from Australia, but he’s done a great job familiarizing himself with NASCAR and working with David Ragan in our simulator,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It’s always exciting when we can have someone from another part of our global motorsports family compete in a different series and we feel this is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent. We’re grateful to RFK for initiating this Stage 60 program and we’re looking forward to Sonoma.”

The race weekend at Sonoma is to feature a full 50-minute practice session on Friday, due to the freshly-repaved surface on the 1.99-mile road course. Qualifying will take place on Saturday, with the 110-lap contest slated for Sunday, June 9 at 3:30 PM ET.

Photo Credit: Jonathan McCoy, Overbey Photography