Dick Johnson established the team in 1980, initially operating out of his home in Daisy Hill before moving to facilities provided by sponsor Palmer Tube Mills. Johnson's national profile exploded during the 1980 Bathurst 1000 when his Ford XD Falcon struck a large rock while he was leading the race, destroying the car. The incident triggered a massive public response, with over $70,000 donated by viewers, an amount matched by Ford Australia chief Edsel Ford II. This funding allowed Johnson to return in 1981, where he won both the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and the Bathurst 1000 alongside co-driver John French.
Following the move to Group A regulations, the team imported Ford Mustang GTs from Zakspeed for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. In 1987, DJR transitioned to the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth and began a long-term partnership with Shell. John Bowe joined the team in 1988, and the duo dominated the late 1980s, winning the 1988 and 1989 ATCC titles and the 1989 Bathurst 1000. During this era, the team developed technical innovations such as a modified 9-inch differential and homologated the Holinger 6-speed gearbox. The Sierra years concluded in 1992, with Bowe taking a round win at Sandown Raceway and Johnson claiming pole at Bathurst with a record-setting time for the model.
In 1993, the team moved to the Ford EB Falcon for the new V8 formula. Success followed in 1994 with endurance wins at Sandown and Bathurst, and Bowe secured the 1995 ATCC title. Following Dick Johnson's retirement from full-time driving in 1999, his son Steven Johnson took over the No. 17 car. The team faced financial challenges in the mid-2000s, leading to businessman Charlie Schwerkolt purchasing a 50% stake. In 2010, James Courtney won the team's seventh championship title in a Ford FG Falcon, though the partnership between Johnson and Schwerkolt dissolved shortly thereafter.
In 2014, American racing mogul Roger Penske acquired a 51% stake in the team, renaming it DJR Team Penske. This partnership brought significant success, including a Teams' Championship in 2017 and three consecutive Drivers' Championships for Scott McLaughlin (2018–2020). The team also homologated the Ford Mustang GT for the 2019 season. Penske divested his stake in late 2020, and the team reverted to the Dick Johnson Racing name under the leadership of Ryan Story. As of 2025, the team fields Brodie Kostecki and Rylan Gray in the Shell V-Power Racing Mustangs.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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