The work Allen put in to make podium possible
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 29 June 2025
Kai Allen announced himself on the Supercars stage at Darwin by soaring to the podium in impressive fashion and it was no fluke.
The Grove Racing rookie secured his first pieces of Supercars silverware by finishing third and second in the final two races of the Darwin Triple Crown.
Having soared through the junior categories and won the Super2 on debut, everyone knew the Mount Gambier youngster was a star to watch.
Allen had to earn the results as well, passing multiple cars to secure the podiums in the final stints.
For a youngster who has always dreamt of standing on a Supercars podium, the Grove Racing driver was still pinching himself almost a week later.
“It was very surreal and still feels like a dream,” Allen told Auto Action on his 20th birthday.
“Getting to Supercars was one thing, and then racing and beating guys I have looked up to for a long time is another altogether.
“Now you take a step back after getting a podium on the same stage as your heroes is pretty cool.
“Also, to get a podium for a lot of the #26 crew who have not had that before and hopefully we have many more.
“I cannot think Stephen, Brenton Grove and the whole team enough. They backed me and its great to give them something back.”
Allen admitted he was “getting a touch frustrated” by “feeling I was getting the raw end of the stick a fair bit.”
He had shown promise across the first five rounds, but was yet to get the breakthrough result, only for it to arrive at a track he had never seen before in Hidden Valley.
However, he has maintained his focus on the “one percenters” as he methodically tries to grow with each round.
“For me it is about execution and not trying too hard,” he said.
“The biggest thing I found was overdriving the car at the start of the year and making some mistakes. I just need to be more consistent.
“There are areas I still need to work on like pit stops, hitting it square on the mark to make sure the boys get the tyres changed easier.
“Starts I still need to nail them down because the one on Sunday was not ideal, but they have been a lot better in recent rounds.”
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