Feeney wins, Brown champion in Triple Eight 1-2

Broc Feeney dominated a quiet Adelaide 500 opener, but it was not enough to push the 2024 Supercars title fight to the final race.

Starting third, Feeney used a short first stop to gain track position and was unstoppable from there, cruising to a second Adelaide victory and first in 11 race since Darwin.

However, 12s behind him was Brown, who only needed to finish fourth or better to wrap up the title.

The Triple Eight cars used strategy smarts and race pace to overcome Tickford and win Race 23 in convincing style.

The team’s domination left the Fords to fight for third with Cameron Waters holding Matt Payne off to get another trophy.

It was a race of two halves with Tickford holding sway early with Thomas Randle leading Waters throughout the opening stint.

But Triple Eight short fuelled Feeney to gain track position and was unchallenged from there.

Meanwhile, Brown rejoined fourth and produced a rapid final stint to reel in both Randle and Waters.

Payne snatched fourth from Randle, but could not quite get Waters.

Brodie Kostecki used a differing strategy to rise from 11th to sixth with Andre Heimgartner, James Courtney, Anton De Pasquale and Ryan Wood rounding out the top 10.

ELBOWS OUT

Tickford’s Thomas Randle leads the field at the start. Image: Peter Norton

Only 22 cars lined up on the grid in searing 33-degree conditions with a pair of Mustangs in the pit lane.

Following a frantic last-minute driver change due to Richie Stanaway’s delayed concussion and Kai Allen’s requirement to get written approval from the Super2 teams, Ryan Wood made an unexpected first solo Supercars start since 2017.

As a result, the #26 Mustang needed to be in the lane, while Mostert suffered a clutch drama and opted to do the same instead of lining up in 18th.

All eyes then turned to the lights and the Tickford teammates and Randle got the better jump to win the race to the Senna Chicane.

Waters backed out of going side by side with Randle and instead used the inside line to defend second from Payne.

Feeney held fourth, while Brown made some key aggressive moves on the opening lap to get up to fifth and ensure he was in position to seal the championship.

One driver, who got it wrong was Fullwood, who sat ninth, but suffered a 5s penalty for jumping out of his starting box too early.

There were plenty of scraps deep in the pack with Murray and Golding making bold moves at the hairpin on Wood and Reynolds for 13th and 18th respectively.

Randle only needed three laps to build his lead well beyond a second over Waters, while Payne was beaten up by the “Bulls.”

The Kiwi found himself on the outside during the final two right handers of the “staircase” and could not stop both Feeney and Brown from getting by in one move and falling to fifth.

There was no shortage of aggression in the fight for the final spots in the top 10 as the the likes of Kostecki and De Pasquale pressed forward, while Love dropped back.

Murray gained three positions in 10 laps, but suffered a mechanical black flag due to the front guard being loose.

When diving into the lane, Murray also came in too hot and jumped the kerb.

It became a race-long frustration for the #9 with two more mechanical black flags arriving.

FUEL GAMES

After a clean opening stint, attention turned the first cycle of fuel stops where Triple Eight made things interesting.

Reynolds was one of the first to box on Lap 18, but started experiencing issues five laps later and dived into the garage.

“I had a bit of contact with someone and then the steering felt really funny,” he said.

“Two laps later I went over a kerb and something went bang.”

De Pasquale was leading the train of the early stoppers and used the undercut to disrupt the leaders, but once they boxed, heh fell to seventh – still seven spots up on his grid position.

The first of the leaders to box was Feeney from third on Lap 27 and Triple Eight rolled the dice, short fuelling to gain track position and it worked.

Brown, plus leader Randle responded a lap later and eventually Randle.

The move paid off for the #88 as it snatched track position from both the Tickford drivers.

Meanwhile, Triple Eight decided to split the strategies with Brown taking on more fuel and emerging around 10s behind his teammate.

As a result Feeney enjoyed a 3s lead over Randle and Waters, while Payne and Brown were a further 5s adrift.

Kostecki was the last to stop and stayed out for 32 laps before finally pitting, which released Feeney.

Murray was back on track and got in a tangle with Winterbottom.

The Erebus rookie was six laps down, but made front to rear contact with Winterbottom on approach to Turn 7, sending the farewelling “Frosty” spinning 180 degrees. Winterbottom fell from fifth to 12th before boxing.

As the race remained green through the second stint, Feeney pulled 3.6s on the Tickford teammates, while Payne and Brown were more than 10s behind the leader.

The run of green flag racing was almost broken when Dale Wood skated into the gravel at Turn 4 from 22nd.

He was lucky to example the trap and keep position, having only gone a lap down.

With Feeney pulling 5s clear, Tickford made the call to allow Waters past Randle.

The call instantly paid off as Waters cut a second from Feeney’s lead within a handful of laps.

After seeing his teammate go past, Randle became the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 50.

Waters followed him a lap later and stopped for 12.8s, which saw him emerge a comfortable 7s ahead of Randle.

Then all eyes turned to leader Feeney for his longer stop on Lap 52 that lasted 16.9s.

It was timed to perfection with the #88 emerging just in front of Waters.

With Feeney on fresh rears and Waters enjoying a full fresh set, a fascinating battle was in prospect.

Despite the shorter stop, when Brown was still behind Randle when he completed his stop.

But critically the #87 was fourth in the train, ahead of Payne, which was exactly where he needed to be to win the crown.

GOING FOR GLORY

The fresh rears did exactly what Feeney hoped for as he not only resisted Waters, but pulled away from him.

Within four laps the #88 pulled 2s on the Monster Mustang, but Feeney’s fears were soon becoming academic.

Despite already being in position to seal the title, Brown was not taking any chances and was also on the charge.

He set the fastest lap of the race as he hunted down Randle and made his first lunge on Randle at Turn 9 on Lap 55 but backed out. 

Two laps later Brown sensed his moment and gave it a proper dive from a long way back and did it easily.

Meanwhile Kostecki finally stopped from the lead at the end of Lap 59, releasing Feeney into a 2.8s lead over Waters, while Brown was a further 6s adrift.

Randle now had Payne up his trumpet and the Tickford driver could do little as the Grove Racing driver pushed him out of the top four.

As the final 15 laps began, Tickford needed a Safety Car with Feeney flying and pulling more than 6s clear of Waters.

To make matters worse for the Monster Mustang, the charging bull of Brown was approaching with the gap closing to nothing.

On Lap 67 Brown was all over the back of Waters and pulled the trigger at an unfamiliar spot.

The soon to be champion made a dive at the infamous Turn 6, but Waters was very sporting and left the door open to let him through.

With 8s between the Triple Eight teammates that move sealed the podium places and further cemented the championship.

All eyes were on who would join them as Payne caught Waters with just three laps left.

His first glimpse was at Turn 9, but did not follow through.

The Tickford driver responded on the penultimate lap to deny any move to the penultimate lap.

This meant the fight went down to the very last lap and Payne had a crack at Turn 7.

But Waters covered it and denied any further hope of a move, with just two tenths separating them.

Randle drifted and ended up 10s behind them to complete the top five, while Kostecki, Heimgartner, Courtney, De Pasquale and Ryan Wood raced hard to be in the top 10.

With the championship settled, the gloves are off for the final race of the 2024 Supercars season on Sunday where the special prize of being overall Adelaide 500 champion is still on the line.

All 24 cars finished with Reynolds and Murray eight laps off the pace.

2024 VAILO Adelaide 500 Race 23 results

Image: Peter Norton EPIC Sports Photography

VAILO Adelaide 500 Supercars schedule

Practice 1: 1: J. Courtney 1:19.6835 2: D. Reynolds +0.1553 3: N. Percat +0.3242

Practice 2: 1 D. Reynolds 1:19.4804 2: C. Waters +0.0840 3: C. Mostert +0.1023

Qualifying – 1 W. Brown 1:19.4425 2: C. Waters +0.3631 3: T. Randle +0.4123

Practice 3 – 1 W. Brown 1:19.7649 2 B. Feeney +0.1894 3 T. Randle +0.2517

Top 10 Shootout – 1 C. Waters 1:19.9628 2: T. Randle +0.1182 3: B. Feeney +0.1847

Race 23 (78 laps) – Sat 15.20

Qualifying – Sun 10.20-10.35

Top 10 Shootout – Sun 12.35-13.35

Race 24 (78 laps) – Sun 15.15

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