How Feeney fought back into title chase

"It’s certainly going to be a battle this year. We’ve got some points to catch up on.”

That was Broc Feeney’s message after Albert Park in April, when he was 146 points away from the championship lead.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver later dropped as low as 234 points down, but in nine races, Feeney recovered and is now within striking distance of the lead.

Heading to the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, Feeney is one of three drivers within 72 points of series leader Will Brown.

In one of the closest title fights in recent memory, Brown leads Erebus Motorsport teammate Brodie Kostecki by seven points, Feeney by 26, and Shane van Gisbergen by 72.

Of the quartet, Feeney was furthest from the orange numbers this season, but recent form has catapulted the 20-year-old into championship discussions.

Both van Gisbergen and Feeney started the year with zero points despite finishing first and second in Newcastle, due to their controversial disqualifications.

Feeney has four wins so far this season

Between Race 9 in Perth and Race 17 in Townsville, Feeney has taken seven podiums — including three wins — and has finished outside the top four once.

The only blip came in Tasmania, when Feeney was caught up in the early-race melee that took out Kostecki and Chaz Mostert, with the #88 finishing 18th.

Critically, between Races 9 and 17, Brown, Kostecki and van Gisbergen has found trouble more than once, be it due to incidents or mechanical dramas. 

Feeney has won the last two rounds on points in Darwin and Townsville, and returns to the circuit where he made his full-time Supercars debut last March.

Midway through the season, the title fight appears set to come down to which drivers manage to limit damage on the scoreboard on their bad days, much like Feeney did in Townsville.

After finishing second on Saturday, Feeney and van Gisbergen slumped to 13th and 25th in qualifying, but recovered to fifth and fourth.

Feeney is also one of two drivers, along with Brad Jones Racing's Andre Heimgartner, to have completed all racing laps in 2023.

Should Feeney go on to win the title, he will reset a number of records, and become the first driver to achieve the Supercars/Super2/Super3 title triple.

Only Kostecki has more podiums than Feeney's nine in 2023

Feeney would become the youngest ever Supercars champion, and also record the biggest ever comeback to win a title.

Jamie Whincup, who Feeney replaced in the #88, was a whopping 213 points down midway through his title-winning 2014 campaign.

"We got a great bank of points and claimed another round win which was awesome,” Feeney said after Townsville.

“That’s now two in a row, so I’m really stoked with that. I’m happy to capitalise on what was not looking like the best start to the day."

Feeney is currently racing for Triple Eight's GT World Challenge Asia squad at Motegi in Japan, having raced at Suzuka last weekend.

The 2023 Repco Supercars Championship will resume at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight on July 28-30. Tickets are on sale now.

Broc Feeney's 2023 championship progression