The Ford squad announced today that it will switch the #10 entry, driven this year by the retiring Lee Holdsworth, to #19 for Payne's maiden campaign.
The change is a nod to main sponsor Penrite Oil which was founded in 1926.
With David Reynolds already sporting the #26 the two car numbers now form the foundation year of the Aussie oil firm.
"With our 2023 driver line-up, the change to #19 and #26 signifies a new era for both us and Penrite, welcoming Matt Payne alongside long-time Penrite ambassador, David Reynolds," said Grove Racing owner Stephen Grove.
“It’s great that we’ve had the opportunity to run numbers that mean so much to Penrite and showcase such a long and established business.
“Partners like Penrite, an Australian, family-owned brand showcase the true Australian spirit of business and we’re excited to promote their product.”
Penrite's brand manager Jarrod Harding said having 19-26 spread across its two entries has been a long-time goal.
“It has always been a goal since entering Supercars full-time that we could get our hands on the perfect book-end numbers of 19 and 26," he said.
And from the Adelaide 500 onwards we finally have them.”
“At Penrite we have always celebrated our Australian history, which is why our cars have always flown the Australian flag. We are equally as proud of our family-owned company’s history and the year 1926 is very important to us.
“It’s great that in 2023 we can finally unveil the #19 and #26 with Penrite Racing with David Reynolds and Matt Payne campaigning us into Gen3.”
