GARRY Rogers Motorsport director Barry Rogers has revealed the internal Scott McLaughlin versus Cam Waters debate the team had ahead of the 2013 Supercars season.
With Michael Caruso heading to Kelly Racing as it began its Nissan Altima era, GRM was looking to uncover the next big thing to partner Frenchman Alex Premat.
It ultimately settled on Super2 champion McLaughlin, who had filled in for Premat at the 2012 finale at Homebush, and a successful four-year partnership followed.
It took just six championship races that season for McLaughlin to taste victory, setting the wheels in motion for a career that would take him to three Supercars titles with DJR Team Penske and now be entrenched as an IndyCar frontrunner.
But in an alternate reality, it could have been Waters blazing a trail in the #33 Holden (and subsequently Volvo).
A year younger than McLaughlin, Waters was still in the early stages of his Super2 days – but had made his Bathurst 1000 debut in 2011 with Grant Denyer as prize for winning the Shannons Supercar Showdown.
The Mildura product had won over GRM chief engineer Richard Hollway, who nowadays engineers David Reynolds at Team 18.
“Prior to Garry (Rogers) employing Scott for the drive for 2013 – obviously he filled in for Alex at Sydney in the last round (of 2012) – they had a test day at Winton,” Barry Rogers told Aaron Noonan on the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Castrol.
“Cam Waters was there, Scotty, there was a couple of others, and Richard Hollway, he wanted Cam Waters and Garry said ‘nup, we’re taking Scotty’.
“I mean we couldn’t have made a mistake either way, both guys have been great.
“But Garry was really keen on him (McLaughlin).”
Waters ended up in the Ford Performance Racing pipeline and earnt a main game graduation three years later after winning the 2015 Super2 crown.
He continues to be Tickford Racing’s spearhead driver, and in early May will make his second NASCAR Truck Series start.
