Compared: Whincup, Feeney's first five T8 rounds
Broc Feeney has so far stood up to the challenge of replacing Jamie Whincup.
The duo swapped hands at Red Bull Ampol Racing for 2022.
Feeney replaced the retired Whincup, who assumed the Team Principal and Managing Director roles.
A closer look at the numbers from their first five rounds for Triple Eight proves Feeney is on the right track.
Whincup ended his first season with Triple Eight ranked 10th overall, but also won the Adelaide 500 and Bathurst 1000.
Through five rounds, Whincup leads Feeney in wins, top threes and top fives.
Every other core metric, however, sees Feeney in the slight ascendancy.
Whincup's first five rounds were in Adelaide, Pukekohe, Perth, Winton and Darwin.
Feeney, meanwhile, has raced in Sydney, Tasmania, Albert Park, Perth and Winton.
The formats of the 2006 season offers a different challenge to 2022.
As of 2022, 2006 was the last season to feature reverse grid racing.
Whincup was subject to four reverse grid races in the first five rounds of 2006.
Reverse grid races offered drama, and that's what struck Whincup at Pukekohe.
He suffered major damage in a hairpin pile-up, leading to his first DNF of the season.
However, he finished fourth, second and fifth in the following reverse grid races in Perth, Winton and Darwin.
Whincup won Adelaide on Triple Eight debut
Particularly stirring was a drive from 23rd to fifth in the reverse grid Darwin race.
The 2006 season was also the last to feature the 'drop your worst round' rule.
Whincup hit the podium immediately on the streets of Adelaide; Feeney needed four starts, finishing second in Tasmania.
Feeney's average finishing position is 3.4 better than Whincup. Impressively, this is all in Feeney's first full-time season.
Whincup completed full-time campaigns with Garry Rogers Motorsport (2003) and Tasman Motorsport (2005).
In fact, Feeney has finished no worse than 14th, which came at Albert Park.
In the five races Whincup was outside the top 10, four were 15th or lower, along with the Pukekohe DNF.
If there was any driver who could sympathise with the pressure Feeney is under, it's Whincup.
Speaking on Supercars' Cool Down Lap podcast at Winton, Whincup was adamant the team isn’t putting pressure on its teenage ace.
"We’re not expecting too much from him," Whincup said of Feeney.
"Being in the top 10 is a great result… he qualified well.
"He’s still getting pushed around a lot out there… the older guys are like, ‘You’ve only been here five minutes’.
"I can’t ask for any more of him, he’s doing a good job."
The 2022 season will resume in Darwin on June 17-19. Purchase your tickets now.
Whincup vs Feeney: First five rounds for Triple Eight
