The curious rollercoaster of WAU's Sprint Cup

It's been a strange season for Chaz Mostert, who ended the 2025 Repco Sprint Cup ranked fifth of 24 full-time drivers. For any driver, that's a great season to date.

Looking deeper, it has been a season of two halves not only for two-time Bathurst winner Mostert, but for Walkinshaw Andretti United on the whole.

In the four rounds Mostert claimed silverware (Sydney, Taupō, Perth, Townsville), he claimed two podiums apiece, and was only out-scored by Matt Payne by six points. That's right, he scored more points than Broc Feeney.

However, in the four rounds he missed out (Melbourne, Tasmania, Darwin, Ipswich), Mostert was ranked only 14th. Feeney scored a staggering 1115 of 1185 available points, with Mostert a huge 671 points behind.

In short, when Mostert is good, he's outstanding. When he's not, he's miles from the best. It is important to note, however, that Mostert was penalised for incidents in Melbourne, Tasmania and Ipswich, although his qualifying average is nearly six positions worse off.

What can't be doubted is that, no matter where they are in the field, Mostert and Ryan Wood won't back down from a fight. Take Mostert's fight for the lead with Brodie Kostecki in New Zealand, or his battle for the minors in the Ipswich finale that earned praise from Andre Heimgartner.

The ever-improving Wood leads the qualifying head-to-head 16-9, while Mostert leads 13-11 in races. However, when you only count races where both cars finished, it becomes 11-all between the two in races.

Wood may have been undone by untimely DNFs in Perth and Darwin, but the difference between the teammates is stark. Mostert's race average is clear in rounds he claimed podiums, while Wood is streaks ahead in the other events.

On paper, one WAU car seems to be stronger than the other at certain rounds. Just five times in 24 races have both WAU drivers finished in the top 10.

So, could WAU be playing everyone's bluff, having experimented throughout the Sprint Cup to prepare for The Finals?

Back in Sydney, WAU Team Principal Carl Faux said: “It’s a different championship this year. You’ve just got to stay in the Top 10 and make sure you have a fast car for the end of the season.

“That means we’re exploring things differently than we would have last year. We can take more risks.

“We’re allowing ourselves the freedom to look for things that will make us the fastest at the end of the year. We’ve found some things that might not work at SMP but will definitely work at other places.”

Time will tell if such an approach will pay dividends. If so, Mostert could become a real threat having been a previous winner on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide, whilst Wood could cause fireworks, especially if his new-found rivalry with Will Brown continues.

Mostert and Wood will resume their 2025 campaigns at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 12-14, with The Finals field locked in after the Repco Bathurst 1000.

Tickets for all 2025 events are on sale now.

Sydney, Taupō, Perth, Townsville

Melbourne, Tasmania, Darwin, Ipswich