'There was a lot of damage': Inside DJR’s Kostecki Mustang miracle

The scene is set for Brodie Kostecki to attempt a come-from-behind Finals clincher at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.

Kostecki is set to roll out for Boost Mobile Qualifying at 10:00am local time, less than 23 hours after a major accident on Saturday morning.

The 19g accident triggered a dramatic overnight repair effort across Dick Johnson Racing’s workshop, PACE Innovations and, finally, the Gold Coast paddock.

The jury is still out on whether Kostecki will be competitive enough to turn a 66-point deficit into a Sandown berth, but the miracle has given DJR a chance.

“The crash happened and then it went straight to the shop, where we stripped off the front of it,” Kostecki’s Race Engineer George Commins told Supercars.com in the DJR garage.

“By 4:00pm it was on its way to PACE. The PACE boys worked on it and left there just after 8:30pm, I think it was here about 9:00pm.

"We worked on a few other things at the shop. I got back here about 1:00am, at which point it was mostly together at the front.

“We ran up at 5:00am, just dropped it quickly on the patch to make sure there was nothing serious around 5:30am.

"These boys went home, had a quick shower and came back again for 7:00am and finished it off.

“It's a different engine. There was a lot of damage. The whole front end's different. The actual damage to the chassis probably wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be."

The Kostecki Ford was one of three cars that required overnight repairs, with Erebus Motorsport and Brad Jones Racing turning around Cooper Murray and Jaxon Evans's Chevrolets after their Beach Chicane incident.

Kostecki has been pushing hard all weekend, crashing in Practice 2 before returning on Saturday for his fateful qualifying incident.

Armed with an entirely new front end on the #38 Shell V-Power Mustang, the 2023 Supercars champion is determined to reward his hard-working crew and clinch a Semi Final spot.

The easiest way for Kostecki to reach Sandown is to win Sunday’s race, but dramas for closest rivals Anton De Pasquale, Thomas Randle and Ryan Wood would clear the path.

“Brodie just wants to get out there and get a result now, that's all we can do,” Commins added.

Timeline: Brodie Kostecki’s Gold Coast crash

Saturday, 11:17am: Crash

Saturday, 12:00pm: Car arrives at DJR workshop

Saturday, 4:00pm: Car arrives at PACE Innovations

Saturday, 9:00pm: Car returns to Gold Coast paddock

Sunday, 4:00am: Front end complete

Sunday, 5:00am: Engine fire up

Sunday, 5:30am: Car on set-up patch

Sunday, 7:00am: Team completes final repairs

Sunday, 10:00am: Boost Mobile Qualifying