Sunday Wrap: Can Triple Eight hold off rampant Mostert?

Chaz Mostert was the man of the moment in Sydney, winning both races and clawing back crucial ground in the championship fight.

At the start of July, he was 279 points behind Will Brown. Heading to the Olympic Games break, he is just 105 points down.

The question remains, can Walkinshaw Andretti United get a handle on its Super Soft woes when the season resumes in Tasmania on August 16-18?

Supercars.com runs through the key talking points from Sunday's Sydney night action.

Mostert in the fight, but a challenge awaits

After Darwin, Chaz Mostert was 279 points from the lead, and was walking on a tight rope. In two rounds, Mostert has the momentum, and is now just 105 points behind. It was the weekend Mostert needed, with the Ford star taking 69 points away from Brown, having gained 105 in Townsville. However, the team mustn't get lost in the Super Soft wilderness again when the season resumes in Tasmania in four weeks' time, otherwise it could all be for nothing.

Waters, Brown race smart with tricky strategy

Cam Waters and Will Brown were put onto a one-stop strategy, but refused to trip over each other and Mostert. When a race was on the line, neither had the firepower to challenge Mostert, but they managed to secure crucial points on a day they could have blown the tyres off and fallen off the podium.

Feeney on the back foot

Broc Feeney was 78 points behind his teammate after Townsville, and was back in the fight. However, two tricky races in Sydney have put Feeney on the back foot, with Brown 153 points ahead. Crucially, Mostert has jumped Feeney in the standings. Feeney was within striking distance heading to Sunday, but missed out in qualifying on Sunday and started 16th, and could only improve to 11th.

DJR still has work to do

Will Davison produced a feel-good story with a surprise pole on Sunday, but could only finish sixth, and behind teammate Anton De Pasquale. Davison was frustrated to miss out on a podium, having run second to Mostert in the first stint. All told, Davison was nearly 20 seconds behind Mostert by race's end, suggesting the team still needs to find more in the races, despite De Pasquale making a one-stop strategy work.

Strategy races are still king

After two long strategic battles in Townsville, refuelling races remained the flavour of the month in Sydney. In both races, strategy was key, with Mostert overhauling one-stoppers in both races late on to win. After nearly 90 minutes of action on both days, the result came down to the final stint, with a driver forced to overtake a rival to get the job done.