Skaife backs Brown 'angst' amid Townsville frustration

Reigning champion Will Brown's rare show of frustration after defeat in Sunday's Townsville finale has caught the attention of Mark Skaife.

Starting seventh for Sunday's Race 22, Brown was one of the most formidable drivers in the race, charging his way forward through strategy and pace to find himself second in the final stint.

In a bid to try and challenge Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney for victory, Brown asked for an earlier stop. However, pit priority belonged to Feeney, and Brown fell short despite closing in the final stint.

Even Feeney admitted Brown was quicker, but insisted maintaining pit priority was the right call.

It meant little to Brown, who said post-race: "It is what it is... we brief it before, but in the heat of the moment, you start whinging and bitching straight away."

Later, when asked if qualifying in the Top Ten Shootout represented a change in one-lap fortunes, Brown was blunt: "Definitely not, qualifying pace is terrible right now."

It was a departure from Brown's trademark smile and wise-crack attitude, but Skaife was a fan of the intent behind the driver's fighting words, saying: "Well, there's a bit of angst and I actually sort of like to see that.

“He's a competitive little bloke, and for all the larrikin and a little bit of the Toowoomba sort of look that he has about his racing, he doesn't look like he's that intense.

"But man, he's intense and he's trying really hard. He and [engineer] Andrew Edwards are a formidable combination. As the year goes on, they'll get better and better."

Brown and Feeney maintain a friendship despite their intra-ream rivalry, having been put to the test during their championship fight last season, which fell Brown's way.

This year, Feeney has had Brown's measure, leading the qualifying head-to-head 20-2 and race head-to-head 15-6. Brown also crashed in Practice 1, forcing the Queenslander to dig himself out of a hole from the very first session.

Skaife added: “I like the level of rivalry they've got going and that's good for us, right?

"We want to see the best drivers in the best cars, and those two guys are going to have plenty of combat as this season closes out."

Feeney leads Brown by 220 points heading to Ipswich on August 8-10, and is in the box seat to clinch the Repco Sprint Cup and the first Finals berth.