Whincup relieved after 'get out of jail free' race

Jamie Whincup was in disbelief he managed dual "get out of jail free” Bathurst escapes in the early laps.

Whincup and Broc Feeney finished fifth in Sunday’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

Triple Eight had three cars in the top eight, with Shane van Gisbergen/Garth Tander winning.

It was Whincup's first Bathurst win as Triple Eight team boss.

Craig Lowndes/Declan Fraser brought home the best ever Bathurst wildcard result with eighth.

It could have been a much different story for the #88, with Whincup implicated by two major incidents.

Whincup and Jack Perkins spun in front of the field on Mountain Straight just seconds after the start.

The four-time Bathurst winner stopped at the end of the first lap, and rejoined the train.

However, the race was neutralised immediately when Zane Goddard triggered a multi-car accident at The Chase.

Goddard collected Dale Wood and Matt Campbell, the incident again happening in front of the field.

Whincup had to thread his way through the carnage, and emerged 19th.

Somehow, the #88 was in podium contention late on, with Feeney bumped down to fifth.

Feeney later told Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast that seeing Whincup spinning on lap 1 was “heartbreaking”.

"Man, crazy Sunday,” said Whincup, who also crashed in Practice 5.

“Our day should have been done 500 metres into the race, spinning in front of the field up Mountain Straight in the water.

“Then I got another get out of jail free card when going through two cars after The Chase.

"I couldn’t believe we came out of there unscathed.”

Whincup last stood on a Bathurst podium in 2013 when he finished second to Mark Winterbottom.

Triple Eight, however, added a record-equalling ninth Bathurst win to its trophy cabinet.

Whincup praised the depth of the team considering how the #888 wildcard performed.

“We got to the back of the podium, which was great, but we just didn’t quite have the pace in the end,” he said.

“I would have been happy to come out of the weekend with three straight cars.

“But to have all three Triple Eight cars in the top 10 just shows unbelievable depth from a team perspective and I couldn’t be happier."

The 2022 season will continue at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.