Feeney leads Brown in Triple Eight one-two at Townsville 500
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.
Broc Feeney holds a 220-point lead over Will Brown with one round of the Sprint Cup left. Picture: Getty Images
'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.
Broc Feeney ended his Townsville drought in style. Picture: Getty Images
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.
Broc Feeney leads the Supercars drivers' standings by 201 points. Picture: Getty Images
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.
This story was written by Speedcafe
Originally published as Broc Feeney leads a Triple Eight 1-2 with Will Brown to put one hand on the Supercars Sprint Cup
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
14 hours ago
- Perth Now
Wildcats land big fish with key NBL signing
Perth Wildcats have been rewarded for their patience and persistence when chasing an Australian marquee player for next season after star big man Jo Lual-Acuil Jnr signed a two-year deal. The Wildcats were determined to sign a big name Australian following the departure of Keanu Pinder and struck gold by signing the former Melbourne United centre. Lual Acuil was picked in the All-NBL First Team in 2022 and is a massive signing for the Wildcats. Having preached patience with the club's roster build, Wildcats basketball operations manager Danny Mills said he was thrilled to sign a player with the talent of Lual Acuil. 'We identified Jo early in free agency as someone who would be a perfect fit for what we are building,' Mills said. 'He is a proven winner at NBL level, has played against top competition internationally, and is still performing at an elite level. Beyond the stats, Jo is an exceptional teammate and professional. He will have a major presence on and off the floor.' Jo Lual-Acuil fights for the ball. Credit: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images The West Aussie will join imports Kristian Doolittle and Dylan Windler as the biggest names at the club, and Perth is still on the hunt for an import guard for their starting five. Coach John Rillie said having Lual Acuil would give the team more weapons at both ends of the floor. 'JLA is one of the elite talents in the league, so it's exciting for us to add him to our roster,' Rillie said. 'He has tasted success in this league, so he understands what is needed to win in the NBL. 'He can impact the game at both ends of the floor. Protecting the rim and rebounding. While offensively his ability to score in the paint and stretch the floor will always get the opponent's respect.' Jo Lual-Acuil is strong at both ends of the court. Credit: Paul Kane / Getty Images Lual-Acuil didn't play in the NBL last season, so his return is significant for both the Wildcats and the league. He said having the opportunity to play for the Wildcats for the first time was huge for his career. 'I'm excited to be coming back home,' Lual-Acuil said. 'This is the city where I fell in love with the game. I grew up in Perth watching the Wildcats and now I'm looking forward to being part of it. 'I've always enjoyed playing at RAC Arena, I can't wait to run out there in front of the Red Army and get to work with JR and the guys.'
Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ashes 2025: England reveal dressing room meetings to plan sledging in India Test
'I think a couple of England sides can sometimes come across as too nice and we actually spoke about that as a group,' Carse said at a sponsor's media opportunity between Tests. 'There's a lot of times when you play against sides as an opposition and they get stuck into us and we kind of sit back and don't get involved too much. 'So I think – and again going back to [Lord's] and to the latter part of that game – moving forwards it will certainly be something that we remember as a group going into an away Ashes tour where no doubt there will be some tough moments out there. But we will definitely not take a backwards step to the Aussies.' Brydon Carse. Credit: Getty Images McCullum's resort to the motivational skills of Enoka – who has also had a longtime role with the All Blacks – has a profound irony to it given all this recent talk of sledging and not being too nice. It was with Enoka's help that McCullum chose to steer his New Zealand side away from sledging, having decided that the Black Caps were not suited to the brazen tactics of past Australian sides led by the likes of Steve Waugh. 'People undoubtedly warmed to the fact that we no longer sledged the opposition,' McCullum said in 2016. 'We worked out what would work for us, based on the traits of being Kiwis. To try to be humble and hardworking and to enjoy what we were doing. 'For us, sledging in an abusive manner just didn't fit with who we believed we had to be. It wasn't authentic to being a New Zealander.' Loading England's approach in the third Test at Lord's was very different. 'We try to play in the spirit of the game as much as possible, but them lads went hard at Crawley and Ducky on that night when [Jasprit] Bumrah bowled that single over,' Brook said. 'So we watched that and we reassessed and we thought it was the right time to go back at them. 'It might have given them that little bit of added pressure and thankfully they ended up crumbling and we won the game. The opportunity that arose for us to not be the nice guys was because of what they did. 'We just thought, 'We're not standing for that'. We had a conversation and said, 'It's time to not be those nice guys that we have been before'. We were doing it within the spirit of the game. We weren't going out there effing and jeffing at them and being nasty people.' Under the captaincy of Pat Cummins, Australia have steered well away from sledging, certainly of the premeditated kind. 'I would say that people, media and fans, who've followed our team closely over the last few years would tend to agree [we don't sledge],' Mitchell Starc said last month. News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Supercars eye Bathurst 1000 rule change to shake-up the start of the iconic endurance race
A radical plan to shake-up the start of October's Bathurst 1000 is set to be assessed by the Supercars Commission for possible introduction this year. Speedcafe understands Supercars is proposing to scrap a controversial rule introduced in 2024 that stipulates primary drivers must take the start at endurance events. That rule was implemented to ensure the sport's biggest race begins with its star drivers in the cars but contributed to a lacklustre 1000km grind with little strategic variation. Under the proposal hatched by Supercars for The Bend 500 and Bathurst 1000, the top 10 cars would have to start the race with whichever driver took part in the Saturday qualifying Shootout. The remainder of the field from 11th on the grid backwards would be free to choose their starting driver. When given the choice, the top teams most often select their co-drivers to start the race due to the benefits of getting the part-timer's minimum laps out of way as early as possible. The new system would effectively make the Shootout runners have to decide between the benefits of going all-out for pole or the ability to start their co-driver. Supercars is believed to have canvassed team feedback on the idea, but it is yet to be formally debated at commission level. The category, though, believes the proposal would strike a balance between the desire to have star drivers at the front of the grid and the need for strategic variation through the field. It's thought to be the latest idea put forward by head of motorsport, Tim Edwards, who was the architect behind the new-for-2025 Supercars Finals Series. Edwards has already implemented a reduction in the fuel tank size and an increase in the minimum co-driver laps for The Bend and Bathurst in a bid to spice-up the races.
