Team 18 has secured a major two-year extension with Stanley Black & Decker, confirming the global toolmaker’s backing through the 2026 and 2027 Supercars seasons and reinforcing one of the longest-running commercial partnerships on the grid.
The renewal will see DEWALT continue as the major backer of the #18 Chevrolet Camaro, marking the 11th and 12th consecutive years of support from Stanley Black & Decker and the sixth season with DEWALT headlining the entry. Team owner Charlie Schwerkolt said reaching 12 years together “speaks volumes about the strength of the relationship and the value we’ve built over that time”, describing the extension as particularly meaningful as the team enters a new phase of its development.
That confidence is grounded in a breakthrough 2025 campaign, the strongest in Team 18’s history. New recruit Anton De Pasquale delivered a standout debut season in DEWALT colours, claiming three podium finishes, three front-row starts and 21 top-ten results to finish eighth in the Drivers’ Championship. De Pasquale said the results reflected the work happening behind the scenes, noting that “coming into a new environment, we set some big goals together, and to deliver three podiums and consistent front-row pace shows just how much work went in”.
The nine-time Supercars race winner also played a central role in lifting Team 18 from 10th in the 2024 Teams’ Championship to a best-ever fifth in 2025, while advancing into Supercars’ inaugural Finals Series. For De Pasquale, the season was defined by consistency and momentum. “What I’m most proud of is the consistency we built across the year and the way the team continued to lift its level,” he said, adding that the results provide a strong platform to “keep pushing forward and fight even closer to the front in 2026 and beyond”.
From Stanley Black & Decker’s perspective, the extension reflects both performance and alignment. Managing Director ANZ Adrian Davis said the past season underlined why the partnership continues to make sense. “Having just completed 10 years supporting Team 18, they have most certainly enjoyed their most successful season to date,” Davis said. “Their performance and momentum on and off the track are a testament to why we’ve chosen to extend our partnership for a further two years.”
The relationship, which began in 2016 with Sidchrome before transitioning to IRWIN Tools in 2019 and then DEWALT, has continued to broaden. Cub Cadet, part of Stanley Black & Decker’s outdoor power equipment portfolio, has featured as a title brand at selected events over the past two seasons and will again play a prominent role during the 2026 campaign. Partnerships Manager Matthew Francis said Supercars remains a powerful engagement platform, describing Team 18 as “an outstanding platform for us to showcase our class-leading brands and engage directly with our customers and end users”.
DEWALT’s Supercars presence forms part of a wider global motorsport footprint that includes the McLaren Formula 1 Team and Joe Gibbs Racing, further elevating the profile of the Australian program.
The timing of the extension is also strategic. In 2026, Team 18 will step into its role as Chevrolet Racing’s homologation partner in the Supercars Championship, leading the brand’s technical alliance. Schwerkolt said having DEWALT and Stanley Black & Decker committed as the team takes on this responsibility “gives us enormous confidence heading into 2026 and beyond”. The Mount Waverley-based squad has already completed wind-tunnel testing in Concord, North Carolina, as part of aerodynamic parity preparations for the new season.
De Pasquale will debut the 2026 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro when the Repco Supercars Championship returns at Sydney Motorsport Park from February 20–22, opening the next chapter in a partnership that has become a cornerstone of Team 18’s rise up the Supercars order.
