Beware the underdog: The trend that kept Allen alive where stars stumbled

At its first attempt, the Repco Supercars Finals Series has delivered shocks and surprises. However, few could have expected the scale of the drama, particularly at the hands of superstar drivers.

The record books will show that the first ever Finals Series championship will be fought by benchmark driver Broc Feeney, two-time Bathurst winner Chaz Mostert, reigning champion Will Brown, and rookie Kai Allen.

It’s a Grand Final field that doesn’t include the likes of Matt Payne, Cam Waters, or Brodie Kostecki, with Ryan Wood, Anton De Pasquale and Thomas Randle also dropping out of contention.

Predictably, it has led to commentary over Allen’s qualification for the Grand Final. A driver with 35 starts and zero wins will fight for a championship? It’s easy bait.

Criticism of Allen’s achievement was to be expected. The Finals are new, they’re scary.

However, when looking at Allen's season and The Finals in closer detail, the 20-year-old has kept his head where others — with far more experience — lost theirs.

On the results sheet, Allen has turned a regular season qualifying average of 13.3 into a Finals average of 7.5. His race average soars from 12.5 to 5.5. Only Mostert (+7.7 in qualifying, +7.8 in races) has made a bigger leap in The Finals.

Criticising Allen’s qualification doesn’t prove that Finals are flawed. Rather, it proves that you can’t make mistakes under pressure.

The most seminal moment of Allen's Finals campaign could be how he handled contact with Randle in the Gold Coast finale. Armed with fresh tyres, Allen caught Randle at a rate of knots and tipped the Castrol Ford into a half-spin.

Instead of pressing on and risking penalty, Allen redressed. What De Pasquale (on James Courtney) or Waters (on Brown) would give to have their moments again.

Of the six who dropped out, Payne and Waters’ eliminations were perhaps the most surprising, given they both fell out at the Semi Final stage after colliding with each other.

The most shocking elimination was that of Kostecki, who walked away from a massive accident on the Gold Coast during qualifying for the very first Finals race.

Payne, Waters, and Kostecki are as elite as they come, combining for 536 races of experience, 34 wins, 52 pole positions, two Bathurst wins, and a championship.

De Pasquale’s decision to attack Courtney in the Gold Coast finale attracted a penalty that dumped him out, while reliability again halted the super-fast Wood in his tracks. Of the six drivers eliminated, only Randle failed to fire a shot across the four Finals races to date, going backwards twice.

And, while he won the Sandown opener to clinch his Grand Final spot, don't forget that Mostert slid into the barriers on Sunday. He got away with it then, but a similar hiccup in Adelaide will be curtains.

All told, the stumbles for the big stars have so far proven that ‘Finals pressure’ isn’t a cliche — it’s a real thing, and it’s something that the impressive Allen hasn't folded under.

The decision from Kostecki and Dick Johnson Racing to go back on track with a damaged car, only to crash out of Saturday altogether, came as driver and team fought to get into the Shootout. Where a middle-of-grid starting spot could have been enough, Kostecki didn't start the race at all.

De Pasquale’s move on Courtney? Desperation to make up positions. Wood’s fuel leak while leading the Gold Coast opener? Put that down to an oversight, or poor luck. Either way, it hurt.

Tickford Racing’s failure to fire on Sandown Saturday heaped pressure on Waters and Randle on Sunday. Where Randle was all but down and out, Waters had a chance, albeit slim, heading into Sunday.

Waters had to take risks to make up ground, and while his efforts were admirable, clashes with James Golding, Will Brown and Payne buried his hopes.

The trend of drivers and teams throwing it away has been the storyline, and one Allen hasn't bought into yet. The result? Twice, Allen has raced out of the drop zone, benefiting from dramas for his rivals to progress. Allen himself may be in shock, but it should be no surprise that he's there.

Brown has already put a line through Allen, while Feeney remained coy. If Feeney, Mostert and/or Brown stumble in Adelaide, the perennial last man standing could emerge with the crown.

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.