Whincup dominated in karting before graduating to Formula Ford in 2000. Crowned Australian champion in 2002 he caught the eye of team owner Garry Rogers, who gave the Victorian his V8 Supercar debut at the then, Queensland 500 later that year. Having worked his way up through the V8 Supercar ranks, Whincup joined Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2006 and took victory in the gruelling Clipsal 500 on debut. He also went on to win Bathurst with Craig Lowndes in his first year. In 2007 Whincup proved a serious title contender, winning four rounds, including his second consecutive Bathurst victory, on his way to finishing runner up to Garth Tander by a mere two points. In 2008 he took his third Bathurst 100 crown in a row before moving on to claim the championship with a victory in Race 1 at Oran Park in a season where he won six rounds and was clearly the class of the field. He backed it up again in 2009 with a new FG Falcon, winning 11 races and sealing back-to-back titles.