'Had to stay tough': Why Skaife backs Feeney's aggressive play
Broc Feeney fought Ryan Wood on lap 1 of Adelaide Grand Final finale
Feeney had 23-point lead over Chaz Mostert, before being undone by sick engine
Mark Skaife insists Feeney faced "school bully routine" if he side-stepped
Broc Feeney's hard-nosed approach to the start of the Adelaide finale impressed Supercars legend Mark Skaife, who insists the Triple Eight star would've faced a "school bully routine" in future races.
While the #88 Camaro's sputtering engine ultimately ended Feeney's title hopes, the Red Bull Ampol Racing star's bold defensive move into Turn 6 on Wood raised eyebrows, given many believed he didn't need to fight.
Feeney carried a 23-point lead over Chaz Mostert into the final race, and needed to finish within a couple of positions of his rival to clinch the championship.
Having been burgled by Feeney on Saturday, Wood had vowed to race hard, and he did so on Sunday. In response, Feeney closed the door to maintain second place, but instead, was turned to the back of the field.
It was the fourth time in as many days that Feeney put up a big fight; he fired up Mostert over a series of moves on lap 1 of the Friday race, muscled for the lead with Aaron Cameron, and passed Wood on Saturday.
The counterargument is that Feeney would have been hung out to dry had he let Wood down the inside, and could have fallen to the back of the top 10 and out of a championship position.
All told, five-time champion Skaife insists Feeney had to get his elbows out, or risk being knocked around by his rivals down the line.
“If you allow someone to dive down the inside and pass you, forevermore, it’s the school bully routine,” Skaife said on the broadcast post-race.
“If you don’t stand up for yourself and don't drive the car like you normally drive it, and you do something abnormal, then they take privileges in the future.
“The reality around that manoeuvre, whether it’s right, wrong or indifferent, we can argue about it forevermore, no problem. But Broc actually had to stay tough to that.
“If that ended up costing him a spin and maybe out of contention, that was one part of it.”
Ultimately, a worsening engine misfire prevented Feeney pulling off a comeback drive, with Mostert cruising to the championship. Feeney's emotional response caught the attention of Mostert and Will Brown, as well as former champion Mark Winterbottom, who says he "wouldn't want to race" Feeney next season.
In a season Triple Eight's reliability had been bulletproof, they stumbled at the final hurdle, leaving team boss Jamie Whincup "gutted." Conversely, WAU stepped up in The Finals, and didn't have issues on Mostert's car amid a year of mechanical heartache.
Regardless, while Mostert was the benchmark in the final three rounds, Feeney responded at nearly every turn, but a slow start on Sunday left the door ajar to his collision with Wood.
Through it all, WAU's title victory was "thoroughly" deserving according to Skaife, who was the team's most recent champion in 2002.
“Chaz was very good. Ryan Wood was the ultimate in being able to help deliver them a championship,” Skaife added.
"It was thoroughly deserved, based on their Finals performance."
