Finals Race: Mostert secures first Grand Final berth, Brown gets out of jail
Chaz Mostert has become Supercars' first-ever Grand Finalist following another dominant display in the opener of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Mostert got the start over his WAU teammate Ryan Wood off the front row, and from that point the Kiwi played the perfect foil to his twice-Bathurst winning teammate as a storming Will Brown came to life in the final stint.
Adding to a sweet day for Mostert, a quiet run to fourth for Broc Feeney means that for the first time this season, Mostert leads the championship, doing so for the first time since the 2023 Newcastle 500.
Feeney is still in a strong position to secure his Grand Final berth however, as he sits 119 points clear with 150 on the line tomorrow.
The story of the race was arguably reigning champion Will Brown, whose Finals hopes appeared to be hanging on by a thread when he qualified a lowly 15th.
However, steady progress through the field in the opening two stints set him up for a blazing charge home in the third and final stint, armed with a new tyre on the loaded right rear corner.
Although Wood did enough to ensure Mostert would come home clear at the head of the field, Brown would come home second, and now sits 56 points clear of the cut-line entering Sunday.
A quite run for Penrite Racing's young charges saw Matt Payne come home sixth, now 47 points clear of the cut and holding the last transfer spot for the bp Adelaide Grand Final, whilst Kai Allen is the first of the cars on the outside looking in after finishing seventh.
The big losers of the day were Tickford Racing, who never looked like contending for a strong result. Cam Waters slipped from ninth to 12th, whilst Thomas Randle could only recover to 16th from 22nd on the grid.
It's now looking likely that for Tickford to qualify either of their cars into the Grand Final, they will need to win the final race of the weekend, with Waters 57 points below the cut-line, and Randle at 104 points behind.
However, with rain potentially throwing a curveball into tomorrow's action, the race for the final three Grand Final spots is well and truly wide open.
Tomorrow's action begins with Boost Mobile Qualifying at 11:20am AEDT, before the Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at 12:10pm, and then Race 31 at 3:20pm.
2025 Repco Supercars Finals Series
Semi Final standings after Race 30, Penrite Oil Sandown 500
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