D-day is looming for Jamie Whincup after the seven-time Supercars series champion revealed he will announce his future plans next week amid speculation he will retire from full-time racing next year.

The 36-year-old Holden star has backed himself to again be a title threat ahead of his 17th Supercars campaign.

Yet rumours Whincup will retire from full-time racing after the 2020 season won’t go away ahead of next weekend’s Supercars series opener in Adelaide.

Whincup appeared to be planning for life after motorsport when recently voted onto the Supercars commission for a two-year tenure and also bought a 15 per cent stake in Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2018.

But he said he would end the speculation once and for all when he makes a final decision on his future next week.

“There’s plenty going on behind the scenes at the moment,” Whincup said.

“I’m hoping to make an announcement next week on where my future sits.”

Young gun Anton De Pasquale is tipped to replace him if the Supercars great decides to walk away from Holden heavyweights Red Bull Racing at season’s end.

Not that Whincup is showing any signs of slowing down on the track.

He may have savoured his last title win in 2017 but he showed he was still a force to be reckoned with last year, winning four of the last six races.

Remarkably, Whincup has finished in the championship’s top three every year since 2007 except 2015.

“I’m under no pressure at all. I want the best for the team first and foremost,” he told Supercars website.

“For 2020 I believe I’m the best person for the job and we’ve got to decide if I’m the best for the job in 2021.”