How Jack Perkins carried the No. 11 name from Perkins Engineering to Triple Eight

Jack Perkins is an Australian endurance specialist who has spent much of his career in the No. 11 car, the number his father made famous. He is the son of Larry Perkins, and he has also spoken publicly for Diabetes Australia since his diagnosis in 2007. His 2025 NASCAR plans added another chapter to a career built on sportscars and V8 Supercars.

Who is Jack Perkins and whose car did he drive?

Born on 22 August 1986, Perkins grew up as the son of retired racer and team owner Larry Perkins. He drove for Perkins Engineering between 2006 and 2008, starting as an endurance-only driver in the team's No. 11 car and moving to the full-time drive in that car in 2007.

In 2006 the team ran two cars in the Fujitsu Development Series. Perkins took the second car, No. 78, while Shane Price drove No. 77. Both men were also earmarked to share the No. 11 car in the 2006 endurance races.

The son of a Bathurst legend who rebuilt his career after a diabetes diagnosis and went on to NASCAR plans.

How did his 2006 Development Series season go?

Price was generally faster through the year, but Perkins still finished third in the championship, a useful result for a driver in that position. Price lost the title narrowly to Adam Macrow, and Perkins finished third. Perkins had been endurance-only at the start of that year.

At the 2006 Sandown 500, Price and Perkins finished 24th in the No. 11 Jack Daniel's Commodore, which Perkins had qualified 20th.

Bathurst that year ended almost immediately. Mark Skaife stalled off the line when his clutch slipped, and Perkins arrived blind over the crest at Mountain Straight and ran into the back of Skaife's car. He limped to the pits without a front-left wheel, with a brake line on fire, and the race was over.

What changed when Perkins became a full-time driver in 2007?

Steven Richards and Paul Dumbrell left the team at the end of 2006, and Perkins Engineering had no experienced name driver free to sign. Perkins and Price were promoted to the full-time championship drives while the team developed new cars, which was far from ideal for two drivers with little main-series experience.

There were bright moments, such as a qualifying top ten at Winton Raceway. However, his performance dropped towards the end of long stints, and the results did not follow his qualifying speed.

Later it emerged that he had type one diabetes. He was diagnosed shortly before the penultimate round of 2007 and had to stand down from the No. 11 car. Marcus Marshall replaced him for the final two rounds.

How did he return to racing after diabetes?

Perkins gained control of his condition in 2008 and cleared the fitness tests CAMS required before restoring his licence. He returned to the track in the Development Series that year, running a Perkins Engineering-built car for Independent Race Cars Australia.

Paired with Nathan Pretty in the 2008 endurance rounds, he came eighth at both Phillip Island and Bathurst. From the Indy Grand Prix round onward he took the full-time seat, after the team dropped Shane Price.

The Independent Race Cars season started well at Adelaide, but a mid-season slump put his title chances in trouble. The car returned to the Perkins Engineering workshop from the Bathurst round, and the engineers helped him to better results. He won a race and a round at Oran Park in the season finale, which secured a fifth place in the championship.

How did Perkins make it back to the main Supercars grid?

Perkins returned to the main V8 Supercars championship in 2009, driving the No. 11 Commodore for Kelly Racing with Dodo Internet sponsorship. The car was chassis PE047, the one Todd Kelly had run for Perkins Engineering in 2008, and the backing arrived as Kelly Racing took over Perkins Engineering in a merger that became a takeover.

That season Kelly Racing ran four cars, more than any other squad, but results for Perkins and the fourth car were thin. He was not kept on for 2010, so he spent that year working as a signwriter for Paul Morris Motorsport and driving a spare car in the second-tier series.

His 2010 form earned him call-ups with James Rosenberg Racing for the Phillip Island 500 and Bathurst 1000, partnered by Tim Slade. Later that year Paul Morris stepped out of his Gold Coast drive with Russell Ingall, and Perkins took it. The pairing revived a partnership his father had shared with Ingall, which had won two Bathurst crowns.

What were his Sonic, Garry Rogers and Holden years?

Perkins raced for Sonic Motor Racing in the 2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series, in a BF Falcon built by Triple Eight. The deal was backed by Bob Jane T-Marts, Supercheap Auto, Accu-Chek and Castrol. He then teamed with Alexandre Premat for the 2012 endurance events with Garry Rogers Motorsport, and with Scott McLaughlin in 2013.

In 2013 an electrical issue at the Gold Coast 600 hurt his challenge in the Pirtek Enduro Cup. He had also raced for Eggleston Motorsport in the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series that year, missing the opening round but finishing fourth in the drivers' standings.

From 2014 he drove the No. 18 Ford FG Falcon for Charlie Schwerkolt Racing, his first full-time seat since 2009. Bathurst was the high point, with a top-ten qualifying spot and a place in the shootout. A pit lane error cost him the final result, and he finished twelfth. He was dropped at the end of 2014 in favour of Lee Holdsworth.

How did he become a Holden co-driver and Bathurst podium finisher?

Perkins returned to endurance co-driving in 2015 with the Holden Racing Team in the Pirtek Enduro Cup. That year he won the Gold Coast 600 with James Courtney, and the pair continued together for five years. He remained an endurance co-driver for the team throughout that period.

Those years gave him steady endurance results, and the Walkinshaw Andretti United link carried into his 2019 podium. Another Gold Coast podium came in 2018. In 2019 he reached the Bathurst podium for the first time, taking third with Walkinshaw Andretti United in a Holden ZB, carrying number 22.

Did Perkins move into NASCAR?

The NASCAR plan was first unveiled on 22 May 2025, with an Xfinity Series start with Joe Gibbs Racing at Portland International Raceway. On 26 June the team said the debut would come sooner, at the Chicago street course. The Xfinity Series sits below NASCAR's top Cup division.

The move from Australian V8 racing to a US stock car series was a big step. Perkins has also worked in broadcasting, as a television commentator and analyst for the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, the Australian GT Championship and World Series Sprintcars.

How has type one diabetes shaped his public work?

He acts as an ambassador for Diabetes Australia and runs fundraising events for it and for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He keeps a personal sponsorship with Accu-Chek, a maker of blood sugar test equipment, which supports that public work.

His condition forced him out of the No. 11 car in 2007, and he later became a public voice for the cause alongside his racing.

Career summary at a glance