Broc Feeney leads a Triple Eight 1-2 with Will Brown to put one hand on the Supercars Sprint Cup

News.com.au

a day ago

Broc Feeney put one hand on the Supercars Championship's new Sprint Cup trophy with victory in the Sunday leg of the NTI Townsville 500.
Feeney started from pole position and controlled the race for its 70-lap duration, losing the lead only during the pit stop cycles.
The driver took the chequered flag three seconds clear of teammate Will Brown, who rose from seventh on the grid on a day where Triple Eight ruled the roost.
It gives Feeney a 220-point lead over Brown in the standings with just a single round of the Sprint Cup remaining at Queensland Raceway next month.
'Huge credit to Will. That was the hardest race I've had in a long time,' said Feeney.
'He was definitely the faster guy today and put a lot of pressure on me. In that second stint, I had newer tyres, and he was coming back at me. He had so much pace on me in that last stint.
'But once he got close, within about half a second, he sort of dropped off and I'm guessing his car overheated from being behind.
'There was a lot of that last stint where I didn't think I was going to be able to hang on, I was asking all of the questions about where I need to improve.
'This means a lot; this is a huge win for us. It's been an awesome roll we've been on; I couldn't be prouder of everyone at Red Bull Ampol Racing.'
Chaz Mostert moved from eighth on the grid to third, taking the final podium spot from fellow Ford man Cam Waters in the closing stages.
Waters had sat fourth behind Feeney, Matt Payne and Anton De Pasquale on lap 14 when Tickford Racing brought him to pit lane, committing to an aggressive undercut strategy.
That allowed the Monster Mustang to take the lead of the race once the first round of stops was completed some 15 laps later.
However, Feeney and Brown were able to overtake Waters – by that point on far older rubber – during the middle stint and retained their track position through the second round of stops.
Brown then emerged as Feeney's biggest threat, closing down the margin to the leader as the second stops approached.
While Brown wanted to undercut his teammate, Triple Eight pulled rank in giving Feeney pit priority – stopping him for the final time on lap 48, with Brown in two circuits later.
That shook out with Feeney two seconds clear. Brown initially closed in on his teammate but proved unable to mount a late challenge.
Payne ended up fifth having faded from his early high of second. The Penrite Mustang lost time in its first pit stop with refuelling trouble and did not have the race pace to contend.
De Pasquale threatened Feeney for the lead in the early laps beforehand but gradually fell backwards from there, eventually taking the flag seventh.
Ryan Wood overtook Thomas Randle for seventh on the penultimate lap, while Bryce Fullwood and Kai Allen rounded out the top 10.
Fullwood drove through from 16th on the grid, while Brad Jones Racing teammate Andre Heimgartner was another charger – rising 10 places to 11th.
Nick Percat was another mover, up 10 spots to 11th, on a day where teammate Cam Hill was running inside the top 10 mid-race only to be forced to the garage with brake trouble.
Others to strike trouble were Will Davison (23rd after a loose wheel forced an extra pit stop) and David Reynolds (21st after a tangle with James Courtney drew a 15 second penalty).
Erebus Motorsport tried a three-stop strategy for Jack Le Brocq, who rose five spots to 17th and ran out of fuel on the cool-down lap.
The Supercars Championship continues at Queensland Raceway on August 8-10.