Winterbottom was in town with racing partner Cam Waters for a brief meet and greet at Lanhams of Leeton as part of a Castrol regional road trip. 

Fresh off last weekend’s race at Winton, where Winterbottom finished ninth on his 36^th birthday, he was pleased to be out meeting some of his fans in Leeton. 

“Lots of these people come to our support, so it’s good to meet a few of them,” he said. 

While this was his first trip to Leeton, Winterbottom already had a small connection to the town. 

When Stephanie Scott tragically died, Winterbottom raced that year with one of the yellow car stickers that were created to remember the much-loved school teacher. 

“That was a terrible thing,” Winterbottom said. 

Both Winterbottom and Waters are hoping for a more consistent team effort when the V8 Supercar championship heads to Darwin.

Winterbottom is currently seventh, while Waters is 10th. 

The pair will head back to Winton in a fortnight. 

“It will be good because it’s been a really hectic season so far,” Winterbottom said. 

“We need a test day … we’re pretty desperate for it. 

“Hopefully we find some things that we need to unlock to go quicker. 

“Because we’ve been to Winton on Sunday we can go back in two weeks (before Darwin) and fix up all the things we need to. 

“All it is is you just need to know your tools and what does what.

“It’s just about knowing the toolbox you’ve got. 

“That’s what we don’t know at the moment. 

“It’s a bit hit and miss and that’s why we haven’t been as consistent as we would like to be (as a team) this season.”

Winterbottom is currently driving the number five Ford FG X Falcon for Prodrive Racing Australia. 

His career highlights include winning the 2013 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 (with Steven Richards) and twice winning the Sandown 500, in 2006 and 2015.

Winterbottom won his maiden championship title in the 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship, making it the first title for Ford in five years.

He was hopeful the team would have more success at Darwin. 

“It’s been a bit hit and miss, so hopefully there can be some improvement,” Winterbottom said. For fans in the region it’s not too late to meet the pair, who will be in Griffith on Friday.