Murray out to play Sandown Semi Final spoiler

Amid all the focus on the seven remaining Finals Drivers for the Semi Final at this weekend's Penrite Oil Sandown 500, for the remaining 17 drivers, there is nothing but silverware to fight for.

Whilst eliminated Finals contenders Anton De Pasquale, Ryan Wood, and Brodie Kostecki are the prime suspects to play spoiler for the remainder of the Finals Series, there are several other candidates who could pop up.

Case in point on the Gold Coast was Brad Jones Racing's Andre Heimgartner, who claimed his first podium of the season in the second 250km leg with a dogged drive.

Perhaps the next driver to add themselves to that list could be Erebus rookie Cooper Murray.

The 24-year-old rookie hasn't been one to be intimidated in his first full-time Supercars season, and whilst the #99 Camaro was caught in several incidents to start the year, his underlying pace has shone through on several occasions.

In the backend of the season, that pace has started to convert into results, highlighted by a supreme Ryco Enduro Cup run alongside debutant Jobe Stewart that saw the pair claim second in the standings behind Bathurst winners Matt Payne and Garth Tander.

Indeed, Murray had scored top 10 finishes in four straight rounds at Townsville, Ipswich, The Bend, and Bathurst, the streak only coming to an end with a difficult weekend in the Gold Coast, highlighted by a high speed crash on Saturday.

However, with he and engineer Wayne Mackie starting to click at the business end of the season, Murray has his sights set on silverware in the final five races of the season.

"If we could get a podium that would be amazing, reward the team with a trophy after all their efforts," Murray said on SEN's The Driver's Seat.

"I think we've had the speed at times this year to make it happen and it just hasn't worked out."

Sandown could present a golden opportunity, with both his own and Erebus' form at the historic Melbourne venue among the best in the field.

The Victorian was an outstanding fifth in last year's 500km enduro alongside Craig Lowndes in Triple Eight's wildcard Camaro, whilst both of Erebus' Chevrolets were well in contention before being ruled out of contention late.

Erebus also claimed pole for the 2023 Sandown 500 with former star Will Brown, before finishing second with Brodie Kostecki and David Russell.

Murray wasn't the only driver to claim a shock result last year at Sandown, with James Golding claiming both his and PremiAir Racing's maiden podium with a stunning charge from 13th to third.

Then there's the likes of the retiring James Courtney and Nick Percat, who won't be taking any prisoners, whilst the likes of Bryce Fullwood and soon-to-be '600 Club' member Will Davison will also be out to prove their worth as gun co-drivers next year.

"I'm really confident going into Sandown, the team the last two years there have been amazingly quick," Murray said.

"Brodie was in contention to win there last year before he had the engine failure, and Jack was I think around third before he got taken out as well.

"Also myself, I have a lot of confidence there after Sandown last year with Lowndesy finishing fifth in the wildcard.

"We're all eyes forward to getting a trophy at Sandown."

Murray enters the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 18th in points, just two positions behind his departing teammate Jack Le Brocq, who will reunite with Matt Stone Racing next season.

The two-time Super2 race winner will also be sporting new backing from TotalEnergies in both Sandown and Adelaide.

On-track action begins on Friday at Sandown. Tickets are on sale now.