Feeney breaks through to win Holden’s final race

BROC Feeney has delivered Holden one last Repco Supercars Championship race win in another spectacular Adelaide 500.

Feeney kept his cool while his chief rivals shot themselves in the foot to become the second-youngest race winner in championship history, only behind Scott McLaughlin.

The 20-year-old Feeney withstood relentless pressure from Saturday star Chaz Mostert through the final stint to get the job done.

That also ensured Triple Eight will forever be the winningest Holden team, Mostert having given Walkinshaw Andretti United hope of drawing level on 189 wins apiece.

Feeney’s result replicates his boss Jamie Whincup, who also took his first race win in Adelaide aboard a #88 Triple Eight Supercar (in 2006).

“I can’t believe it. It’s been an awesome year, but I felt the win was always so close,” Feeney said. “To get it at the last race in front of all these fans for Holden means so much.

“Everyone who has supported me, it’s been one hell of a ride. In that race I was out to show that hopefully next year I can be a contender.

“Chaz had me under pressure, I felt like we had a bit more speed but those last laps were pretty tough just trying to stay focused.”

Much of the drama was provided by the three others who joined Feeney in starting on the front two rows.

Dick Johnson Racing ran one-two through the opening stint but imploded with a series of mid-race driver errors.

Feeney’s championship-winning teammate Shane van Gisbergen yo-yoed up and down the order and on multiple occasions looked like contending for victory.

However, the final nail in the coffin for his up-and-down afternoon was a late drive-through penalty for a Safety Car restart infringement relating to his car positioning relative to Lee Holdsworth ahead.

SVG has been given a pit lane penalty for the Safety Car restart.

He argues the Penrite car missed the apex #RepcoSC pic.twitter.com/XHSJP9DeYw

— Supercars (@supercars) December 4, 2022

That pushed van Gisbergen down to 12th with just 14 laps remaining. He would recover to seventh.

Behind Feeney and Mostert, Anton De Pasquale was a subdued third from Cam Waters, Andre Heimgartner and Will Brown.

Rounding out the 10 was Brodie Kostecki in eighth, the retiring Lee Holdsworth, and James Golding.

Pole-sitter De Pasquale had managed to hold the lead through the first series of corners by virtue of having the inside line over teammate Will Davison, while van Gisbergen outdragged Feeney to be the lead Holden.

Scott Pye, Thomas Randle and Todd Hazelwood endured early off-road excursions while an oil leak forced Jack Le Brocq back into the Matt Stone Racing garage.

It was two Shell V-Power Mustangs from two Red Bull Commodores at the front before Triple Eight was first to blink, pitting Feeney on Lap 11.

Dick Johnson Racing reacted two laps later, bringing Davison in from second position, just in the nick of time to nullify the Feeney undercut.

Those two jumped to the front when the Safety Car was deployed in response to Jake Kostecki walloping the Turn 8 concrete on Lap 17, the impact plucking the left-front wheel off the car.

The 13 cars yet to pit by that stage all dove into the lane, triggering a new running order of Davison, Feeney, De Pasquale, David Reynolds, van Gisbergen, Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, Will Brown and James Courtney.

There were mixed fortunes for Triple Eight on the restart, with van Gisbergen again losing out when finding himself on the outside at Turn 6, although this time he backed out to avoid a repeat of Saturday’s brush with the fence.

In doing so, van Gisbergen dropped positions to Brodie Kostecki – who survived contact with the Turn 8 wall moments later – Waters, Mostert and Brown.

In better news for the Banyo camp, Feeney’s sustained pressure on Davison saw the veteran run deep at Turn 9 and allow the #88 Holden into the lead.

From there, van Gisbergen started a comeback charge, moving all the way back up into fourth before disaster set in for DJR.

First, Davison ran off an into the wall at Turn 11, pitting straight after.

The very next lap, De Pasquale gifted van Gisbergen second with a Turn 14 mistake.

There was another curveball to come for van Gisbergen, as Bryce Fullwood crashed out at Turn 8 on Lap 42 to spark a Safety Car-induced final flurry of pit stops.

Van Gisbergen’s road position behind Feeney meant a double stack that sent him tumbling out of the top 10.

Cue another DJR mistake – Davison spinning Reynolds, with Courtney collateral damage, to earn a 15-second penalty – and another van Gisbergen fightback, and another setback.

Among other noteworthy matters is a post-race investigation hanging over the head of MSR, regarding a frightening pit stop mishap where Hazelwood left his bay with the water pipe still attached.

RESULTS: Race 34, 2022 Adelaide 500