Feeney celebrates Sprint Cup success in style
Broc Feeney has completed his crushing run to the Sprint Cup in style by winning the Ipswich Super440 finale, but he had to work a lot harder than he first thought.
Feeney converted pole into an 8s triumph, his 13th in 2025 and ninth of the last 11 to complete a dominant Sprint Cup campaign.
Whilst he led the field from pole, he found himself with the unexpected challenge of overhauling runner-up Cameron Waters and third-placed Kai Allen.
They were the beneficiaries of a well-timed Safety Car for a beached Cameron Crick, which changed the race on Lap 30.
Suddenly, Feeney dropped to fourth, while Waters and Allen hit the lead after completing both compulsory stops under the Safety Car.
However, as has been the case throughout the entirety of the season so far, Feeney was just too fast and he mowed them down before driving 9s into the distance to complete a comprehensive 337-point Sprint Cup victory in emphatic fashion.
“We wrapped up the Sprint Cup yesterday, but I did not want to finish it with a fourth, so to do all the burnouts after a win was awesome,” he said
“I really wanted to win that one, especially at home with friends and family.
“I felt like they threw everything at us there with the weather, the safety car so to come out in fourth and get straight into the lead I am chuffed.
“It was not easy because we had to pass some really fast guys
“I could not have dreamt the year we have had, so I just cannot thank the boys and girls in my team. They keep raising the bar and I am just trying to match them.
“Life cannot get much better.”
Feeney was determined not to make the same mistake as Saturday and he nailed the start and converted pole perfectly.
He only needed two laps to pull a second clear of the field and that advantage only grew.
This forced Wood to cover off Brown to hold down second, while both Matt Payne and Macauley Jones were in the weeds coming out of Turn 2.
The field made it through the first lap cleanly, but only just as Coopper Murray, James Courtney and Matt Payne bumped their way through the final turn.
To add to the challenge, heavy rain arrived at Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 3.
Despite some drivers having little scares, it was never wet enough to change tyres.
Courtney was the only driver to pit for wets, but he was also the first to go off track at Turn 3 and eventually turned back to slicks within 10 laps.
The biggest battle at the front of the field took place between Brown and De Pasquale as they jousted for multiple laps.
However, Kostecki was revelling in the conditions, picking off both of the Camaros at the same time to snare the podium place.
The two-in-one move was made possible when the Team 18 driver had a horrific wobble in the middle of the Dick Johnson Straight in the rain and impacted the momentum of both him and the reigning champion.
They carried on their contest however as Brown finally made his way past De Pasquale.
Kostecki’s teammate Davison was also on the move, going up six spots for 12th, but he received a 5s penalty for escorting Le Brocq wide at the final corner, which the DJR driver labelled as “ridiculous.”
Amid the conditions, Bates was holding his own in the wildcard, sticking in sixth despite copping a whack from Mostert.
As the veteran was unable to pass the youngster on the track, WAU opted to run the undercut pitting on Lap 19.
It paid off as Bates waited another four laps, but a slow left-front change undid all of his good work and he dropped six spots behind Mostert.
Wood was also able to retain track position ahead of Brown, who had won a fierce battle with Kostecki, while De Pasquale fell behind them after a slow getaway.
Being in a league of his own, Feeney had the freedom to delay his stop to Lap 27 and still rejoin with a 6s advantage.
Incredibly, crews were back in the lane servicing cars just three laps later as a Cameron Crick Safety Car changed the race.
Crick locked up at the final corner and could not stop himself from getting stuck in the sand, sparking a Safety Car.
The entire field aside from the MSR wildcard, took the chance to complete the second leg of their compulsory stops.
But the biggest beneficiaries were Allen, Waters and Heimgartner, who went long in the first stint and were rewarded as they enjoyed the opportunity to complete both required stops in as many laps.
The impact was massive as the trio went from battling outside of the top 10 to leading the race, having rejoined ahead of Feeney.
Despite Allen having track position, Tickford used its skills in the lane to vault Waters into the lead.
Suddenly the race had been flipped on its head with Feeney finding himself in fourth and with the threat of incoming rain, it burst to life.
Racing resumed with 27 to go with Waters unexpectedly leading the way over Allen and Heimgartner, but Feeney was a man on a mission.
He wasted no time in displacing Heimgartner at Turn 3, while a lap later he overhauled Allen to ensure Waters was no only in his sights.
Teammate Brown also made a key move on Wood in aggressive fashion down the Dick Johnson Straight.
But unfortunately, the third Triple Eight Camaro was going backwards as the MSR teammates bullied the rookie.
Bates’ first bruise was made by Hill as the #4 hit him not once, but twice down pit straight, forcing the #888 into the dirt at high speed.
The wildcard then had Percat for company and the sister MSR Camaro also gave the Supercheap Auto a whack and sent him spearing off at Turn 2.
The stewards did not enjoy the teammates actions with Hill being hit with a drive-through and Percat slapped with a 15s penalty.
The heat was also at an all-time high at the front of the field.
Brown and Wood were in a willing battle for fifth and it ended in tears.
After Brown picked off the Kiwi, Wood went too deep under brakes at Turn 3 and sent the reigning champion into a smoky spin.
The #1 plummeted down to 23rd, while Wood was sixth behind teammate Mostert, but suffered a 15s penalty.
This craziness had ensured both Allen and Heimgartner could keep a firm grip on their respective top-four spots.
Mostert was the latest to receive a penalty, being suffering a 5s setback for a bump and run on De Pasquale which left the #18 with a rubbed guard.
Waters had held the lead until Lap 44 when Feeney went on the attack.
The Sprint Cup winner dived down the inside at Turn 3, but Waters was not going down without a fight and performed a switchback.
This meant Feeney had to have another crack at Turn 4 and he hugged the inside kerb to deny Waters another crisscross by the barest of margins.
Following the thrilling duel, Feeney bolted away in clear air and quickly skipped to beyond a 2s lead.
Although this disappeared quickly, the arm wrestle for fourth waged on.
Across three wild laps Mostert, Heimgartner, Payne, Wood and Kostecki all sliced and diced all over the place and somehow the BJR driver remained in charge.
But it was short-lived as Mostert finally muscled his way past on Lap 57, opening the door for Payne and Kostecki to follow suit.
These proved to be the final moves of a frantic run home where Feeney cruised to another success.
Following the Triple Eight star home were Waters and Allen, who joyfully made the most of their unexpected opportunities.
Mostert was fourth across the line, but dropped to sixth behind Payne and Kostecki.
The field now hopes Feeney can be easier to beat in the Enduro Cup, which starts with the first-ever Bend 500 on September 12-14.
Image: DMAC Photography
Results Race 25 63 laps Queensland Raceway
Pos Driver Team Laps Margin
1 Broc Feeney Triple Eight 63 01:22:42.6615 –
2 Cameron Waters Tickford 63 +8.8096 +17
3 Kai Allen Grove Racing 63 +10.9325 +19
4 Matt Payne Grove Racing 63 +18.4676 +8
5 Brodie Kostecki DJR 63 +19.0114 +1
6 Chaz Mostert WAU 63 +22.5454 +3
7 Andre Heimgartner BJR 63 +22.7977 +13
8 Anton De Pasquale Team 18 63 +23.0909 -4
9 James Golding PremiAir 63 +23.5382 -2
10 Richie Stanaway PremiAir 63 +23.9999 +1
11 David Reynolds Team 18 63 +24.4620 -1
12 Jack Le Brocq Erebus 63 +25.9508 +4
13 Bryce Fullwood BJR 63 +26.6022 +12
14 Thomas Randle Tickford 63 +27.4059 +9
15 Jaxon Evans BJR 63 +27.6334 +6
16 Will Brown Triple Eight 63 +28.3333 -13
17 Will Davison DJR 63 +28.5587 +1
18 Cooper Murray Erebus 63 +30.4601 -1
19 Macauley Jones BJR 63 +32.0197 -5
20 Aaron Cameron BRT 63 +33.4023 +4
21 Zach Bates Triple Eight 63 +34.0052 -16
22 Ryan Wood WAU 63 +36.4533 -20
23 Nick Percat MSR 63 +36.4533 -8
24 Cameron Hill MSR 63 +45.8838 -16
25 James Courtney BRT 62 +1 Lap -12
26 Cameron Crick MSR 55 +8 laps –
2025 Ipswich Super440 (All Times AEST)
Friday 8 August
Practice 1 – 1: Broc Feeney 1:09.2078 2: Anton De Pasquale +0.1965 3: Cameron Hill +0.2271
Practice 2 – 1: Will Brown 1:08.4927 2: Broc Feeney +0.1419 3: Ryan Wood +0.2088
Saturday 9 August
Qualifying Race 23: 1 Broc Feeney 1:08.1301 2 Will Brown +0.1119 3 Ryan Wood +0.1866
Qualifying Race 24: 1 Broc Feeney 1:19.8014 2 Ryan Wood +0.4782 3 Will Brown +0.9097
Race 23 – 39 laps 1 Broc Feeney 2 Kai Allen +0.4739 3 Ryan Wood +1.1230
Race 24 – 39 laps 1 Will Brown 49:05.3349 2 Broc Feeney +0.8842 3 Ryan Wood +9.8118
Sunday 10 August
Qualifying Race 25 1 Anton De Pasquale 1:08.1543 2 Broc Feeney +0.0347 3 Zach Bates +0.1115
Top Ten Shootout 1 Broc Feeney 1:08.3493 2 Ryan Wood +0.4629 3 Will Brown +0.4807
Race 25 – 63 laps (200 km)
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