Who's humming, who's hurting? 10 things we learned in 2025 Repco Sprint Cup
The inaugural Repco Sprint Cup has been run and won, and several storylines have emerged as the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship shifts into Ryco Enduro Cup mode.
There's no question that the backend of the Sprint Cup has been the Broc Feeney show, as the 22-year-old romped away from the field to punch his Golden Ticket to the Repco Supercars Finals Series.
However, behind the competition has been fierce, as a new challenger has emerged as a legitimate title threat, whilst the battle to crack into the Finals bubble has been the subject of plenty of attention in the mid-pack.
With just nine races left in the season, and just the two enduros before the 10 Finals Drivers are set, Supercars.com takes a look at 10 of the key learnings from the Repco Sprint Cup.
Feeney is THE man
Broc Feeney's run to the Repco Sprint Cup was nothing short of scintillating. 12 wins of a possible 24, 13 poles of a possible 25, and finishing some 345 points up the road on his nearest rival, with 315 available at each weekend. The 22-year-old blew everyone away with a five race winning run covering Perth and Darwin, and hasn't looked back. There's no question that if anyone wants to challenge for the championship, Broc will be the man to beat.
Qualifying woes are hurting Brown
On the other side of the Red Bull Ampol Racing garage, reigning champion Will Brown has has a tough run in 2025. His streak of podium finishes at every round came to an end in Taupō, a weekend where qualifying deficiencies were laid bare. Brown is only ranked fourth on average in qualifying this year, behind Feeney, Cam Waters, and Matt Payne, but was as low as sixth as recently as Townsville.
Payne and Penrite are the real deal
In Brown's place has stepped Matt Payne, who has enjoyed a breakout start to 2025. The Kiwi young gun has been Ford's shining light this year, claiming three wins and often being the biggest threat to Feeney's dominance. Payne has got the better of Feeney on occasion too, notably in Tasmania with a brilliant drive thanks to a smart strategy play. A former Adelaide 500 winner, expect Payne to be a serious championship threat at the Grand Final.
Sydney was lightning in a bottle for Tickford
Cam Waters and Tickford Racing were in absolutely imperious form at the Sydney season opener, romping to a perfect 315-point weekend. Remarkably, victory in the season finale remains the most recent win for both parties. Inconsistency has plagued Tickford's season since, with Waters slipping to fourth, whilst Thomas Randle is a real possibility of being a shock non-qualifier for The Finals just 20 points inside the bubble.
WAU still showing cracks
For the near-championship defining run Chaz Mostert made last year, Walkinshaw Andretti United have largely been a non-factor in 2025. That's not to say there hasn't been success this year, both Mostert and Ryan Wood have wins and poles to their name, but again consistency hasn't been a feature. The team have made no secret that they have been focused on tuning their cars to come good in The Finals. Time well tell if they are on the money or not.
DJR need to get both cars firing
The rebuild at Dick Johnson Racing is just starting to pick up momentum. Brodie Kostecki's dominant victory in the Friday Townsville sprint was proof that when the ingredients are right, the #38 Mustang as good as any other on their day. However, things just simply haven't clicked for Will Davison in the #17, who is a lowly 17th in points and very likely to miss The Finals. The team are set to stay loyal to the 42-year-old for next season, but results have to come sooner rather than later.
De Pasquale repaying Team 18's faith
A change is as good as a holiday as they say, and that couldn't be more true for Anton De Pasquale. His move from DJR to Team 18 seemed like a sideways step at best, however he has proven to be one of the stars of the season, consistently running in the top 10 to start the season. A mid-season slump has been broken with a vengeance, with De Pasquale looking set to secure a surprise Finals berth. With Team 18 set to assume Chevrolet homologation duties, could the Victorian be the ultimate Finals dark horse, and the man to lead GM's post-Triple Eight future?
Big points races have been crucial
With big points on offer in the refuelling races for the Sprint Cup, we have seen plenty of teams and drivers come on strong in the longer races. Chief among those is Payne, who has scored the second-most points in the longer races, however it is fellow Kiwi Andre Heimgartner who has arguably been the biggest beneficiary. The BJR spearhead is ranked seventh for points scored in 200km races, compared to 14th in sprints. With the 30-year-old currently in a provisional Finals berth, it could be the difference.
Finals pressure is real
Although drivers were shying away from the pressure to crack the top 10 early in the season, however the pressure to crack into The Finals has only ramped up in recent rounds. The clash between James Golding and Ryan Wood was the first real sign of pressure, whilst Ipswich saw several drivers in Finals contention caught up in incidents, with Wood potentially sparking a rivalry with Will Brown that could spill over into The Finals. With several drivers' seasons now in their co-driver's hands in the Ryco Enduro Cup, the pressure will continue to increase.
Generation Next has arrived
The shift towards the next generation of Supercars superstars has been gradual over the past few seasons, however it has exploded in 2025. The record for the youngest Supercars podium has been broken three times this year alone, with Feeney and Payne becoming genuine frontrunners, and Ryan Wood and rookie sensation Kai Allen also impressing on several occasions. Reigning Super2 champion Zach Bates stunned in his Ipswich wildcard debut, whilst current Super2 standouts Rylan Gray and Lochie Dalton have also debuted this year.
