Nine cars left in the hunt for $20,000 prize

The OTR The Bend SuperSprint this weekend will not only be pivotal to the 2020 drivers’ title race; the championship’s penultimate round will have pit crews on edge for a grand prize of their own.

Nine cars remain in with a mathematical chance of making the PIRTEK Pitstop Challenge’s top four from an eight-round regular season.

Every race not affected by a Safety Car since the sport returned from the COVID-19 break has counted towards the competition, with the fastest pitlane transit on a compulsory stop from each heat awarded 24 points down to one point for the slowest.

Brad Jones Racing continues to lead the way and are all but guaranteed one semi-finals berth thanks to their Nick Percat entry holding a 38-point lead.

From there, it tightens up.

The Red Bull HRT’s #88 (Jamie Whincup), BJR #14 (Todd Hazelwood) and both Shell V-Power Racing cars are split by just nine points from second to fifth.

A little further back, Tickford Racing still has three cars in with a slight chance, while early competition leader Penrite Racing/David Reynolds is the lowest-ranked competitor still within reach of a top four spot.

The PIRTEK Pitstop Challenge semi-finals and grand final will be held on the night of Thursday October 15 as part of a special extended Bathurst coverage on Fox Sports.

BJR are the defending champions and are again well in the hunt for the $20,000 major prize.

PIRTEK Pitstop Challenge leaderboard Round 7 (top 10)

1. R&J Batteries Racing #8 – 356 points

2. Red Bull Holden Racing Team #88 – 318

3. Brad Jones Racing #14 – 318

4. Shell V-Power Racing Team #12 – 314

5. Shell V-Power Racing #17 – 309

6. Monster Energy Racing #6 – 284

7. Truck Assist Racing #5 – 283

8. Supercheap Auto Racing #55 – 282

9. Penrite Racing #9 – 278

10. Red Bull Holden Racing Team #97 – 239