How 22-year-old Supercars leader is handling the hype

Perth Now

2 days ago

Two race wins, three podiums and one pole - this Supercars haul is nothing special to Broc Feeney.
The 22-year-old has surged from fourth to first in the series standings in one weekend, but won't be getting carried away with it.
The Red Bull ace is putting off championship talk as he eyes a complete sweep at Perth's Wanneroo Raceway this weekend to back up his near-perfect performance in Tasmania.
"I don't think that I've really done anything too special," Feeney told AAP.
"I've won a few races and I'm leading the points. To me, that doesn't really mean much. I want to win a championship.
"The big one for me is, no one's really backed up a good result from the weekend before, so I want to roll out in Perth and go one better - get three race wins.
"All the other stats for me, I'm not really worried about it."
What is Feeney worried about? Mistakes.
The youngster wants to make as little of them as possible, given his slim 33-point lead over teammate and reigning champion Will Brown.
Cam Waters is the only driver so far to have pulled off a weekend sweep, cleaning out Sydney after spectacularly winning the second race with a 0.0308-second margin over Feeney.
But Tickford driver Waters, who re-committed to the Ford team amid interest from Chevrolet, has yet to recapture his dominance and dropped to fourth in the championship.
Grove Racing's Matt Payne is third after denying Feeney in Tasmania, winning by 0.0550 seconds after starting the final sprint in 11th.
"The championship could be even better for me without a couple of hiccups along the way," Feeney said.
"It's just putting it together and not really having many mistakes - like at the Grand Prix, I qualified on pole four times and I won one race.
"I'm in my fourth year now, so I expect to be at a level where I can drive well enough and execute."
A 'no mistakes' approach is key at the 2.4km-long Western Australian track, where clinching pole position is as crucial as ever.
The tight raceway has just seven turns, giving little room for overtaking.
The past seven races held at Wanneroo have been won from pole position, with a total of 69 out of 97 races since 1973 won from the front row.
Clean air will also be an advantage, with drivers dialling up on-track aggression following a relaxing of racing rules.
"It's pretty wild. I've been pretty lucky to stay out of it for most of the year," Feeney said.
"The further you go down the pack, the more out of control it gets and the more wild it is.
"It's something different. It's exciting for the fans. Sometimes it's exciting for us, other times not.
"It's just going to be about qualifying well and staying out of trouble, which is a lot easier said than done."
Supercars action gets underway at Wanneroo Raceway on Friday, with practice starting at 2.05pm (AEST).