Whincup firm on avoiding repeat of Townsville scare
Jamie Whincup firm on avoiding repeat of early Townsville slump
Triple Eight drivers left exposed in 14th and 20th for first Townsville race
Broc Feeney closed out weekend with two wins to all but seal Finals berth
Triple Eight’s drivers were left exposed down the order for the first Townsville race, and Jamie Whincup doesn’t want it to happen again.
While Broc Feeney closed out the NTI Townsville 500 with a brace of wins, Friday was far from Triple Eight’s finest day, as coined by Whincup.
Feeney and reigning champion Will Brown qualified 14th and 20th for the first race of the weekend, and just scraped into the top 10. It came after Brown started the weekend on the back foot with a crash in Practice 1.
While it was a half-points race, meaning both drivers avoided damage on the scoreboard, it left Triple Eight scrounging overnight to find performance for the rest of the weekend.
The team turned it around and spared blushes with two wins for Feeney, with Brown charging from seventh to make it a 1-2 on Sunday.
Brown entered the weekend off the back of a trip to the United States for an ill-fated NASCAR cameo, which Whincup claimed left the team “compromised."
Whincup insisted he was proud of the fightback, but continued the strong vein of comments over performance after claiming he was “filthy” his team missed out on victory in Tasmania.
“It was a little bit compromised, but I’m happy to have those compromises if it means greater opportunities for our drivers, engineers, mechanics, and what not.
“We prepared as well as we possibly could. Friday wasn’t our finest day, but thankfully we had a great weekend.
“Looking forward to debriefing after this one and seeing where we went wrong Friday, and making sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Feeney is in the box seat to win the Repco Sprint Cup, which will conclude at upcoming Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 on August 8-10.
Brown can also mathematically clinch his place in the Finals, with Triple Eight currently one of three teams, along with Tickford Racing and Walkinshaw Andretti United, with two drivers in the top 10.
The 2025 season resumes at the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 from August 8-10. Tickets are on sale now. International viewers can watch the action on SuperView.
