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  Lowndes is easily the best-known and most popular racing driver in Australia, a crown he claimed reluctantly after the death of his good friend, mentor and former team mate Peter Brock. Photo Gallery

Only one thing was missing from Craig Lowndes' triumphant Holden homecoming at Fishermans bend yesterday - the man himself.

V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup starred instead as his team, Triple Eight Racing, confirmed a switch from Ford to Holden and revealed a Commodore in TeamVodafone's racing colours.

Lowndes avoided the event to continue a commitment with Ford which does not finish until his personal contract with the blue oval brand ends on December 31. He was not even answering his phones yesterday.

"I'm expecting we'll have him in a Commodore on January 1," Triple Eight boss, Roland Dane, joked yesterday as he explained the absence of his star driver.

"Craig stayed away out of respect to his existing contract. That is very fair. And a measure of how he conducts himself. I would expect nothing less."

But it was still a letdown for the Holden faithful, who are already trumpeting the return of the V8 Supercar hero who made his name and fame in Commodores before defecting to Ford in 2001.

Lowndes is easily the best-known and most popular racing driver in Australia, a crown he claimed reluctantly after the death of his good friend, mentor and former team mate Peter Brock.

He has now done a similar mentoring job on Whincup who, like him, began his V8 Supercar career with Holden before switching to Ford to get on the fast track to wins at Bathurst and in the championship.

"We are very excited about working with TeamVodafone and are thrilled to welcome back both Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup to the Holden family," the man who signed the multi-million deal, Holden's sales and marketing boss Alan Batey, said yesterday.

He is expected to confirm a renewed deal with the Holden Racing Team as early next week as the red lion brand consolidates its V8 Supercar spending on teams it believes can win. The loser is likely to be Kelly Racing, which was set up this year by Todd and Rick Kelly with backing from Jack Daniels.

As the deal was confirmed, Dane finally admitted he had fielded a call from Holden this year about bringing Triple Eight into the red team. But he denied signing as a get-square with Ford after it cut its funding to the team at the end of last year.

"That would be completely meaningless. I see it as a great opportunity to be aligned with one of the most iconic brands in Australia," Dane said. "And I see it as a challenge to Triple Eight. The sort of challenge we like. And a return to our roots with GM."

Dane forecast early wins for the Vodafone Commodores in 2010 but said his company would continue with its existing supply contracts with Dick Johnson and Paul Cruickshank, which switched this year to the latest Triple Eight-built FG Falcon.

"Wins? That's the plan," he said. "We will continue our supplier relationship. We supply parts to every team in the V8 Supercar pitlane, bar two."

Triple Eight already has a Commodore in its Brisbane workshop and its wizard chief engineer, Ludo Lacroix, has begun work on the team's racing version.

"He is excited about it. He likes the challenge," Dane said.