Mike Kable Young Gun Award

The Mike Kable Young Gun Award (also called the Mike Kable Rookie of the Year)^[1] is an annual motor racing award honouring the achievements of a rookie driver under the age of 30 who competes in either the Supercars Championship, the second-tier Super2 Series or the third-tier Super3 Series.^[a][3][4][5] Tony Cochrane, the chairman of the championship's organising body Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO),^[b][6] instigated the accolade in June 2000.^[4][7] It is named after Mike Kable, an Australian motoring journalist, motorsport publicist, and mentor to young racing drivers.^[7] The award is presented to the rookie driver adjudged to have performed the best over the course of their first season in either championship following a vote by a panel of motorsport experts.^[8][9] The recipient receives a sponsorship grant of A$15,000 to help develop themselves.^[4] The winner is announced at the series' end-of-season gala in Sydney.^[3]

The inaugural winner was Matthew White in 2000.^[10] The following year, the Stone Brothers Racing driver Marcos Ambrose won the award.^[11] Ambrose, James Courtney, Rick Kelly, Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom are the five recipients who have gone on to win either the Supercars Championship and/or the Bathurst 1000 in their careers.^[12] Australian drivers have won 21 times and New Zealanders twice. No one has won more than once; drivers from the second-tier championship have been honoured 14 times and Supercars competitors have won on 7 occasions. The 2023 recipient was Cameron McLeod, who finished in third place in the Super3 Series drivers' standings.^[5]