Brown, Feeney divided over rookie Allen's championship chances
Will Brown, Broc Feeney offer mixed opinions on Kai Allen's title hopes
Allen promoted into a Grand Final berth after Cam Waters, Matt Payne clash
Penrite Racing rookie entering his fourth Adelaide title decider in as many years
Red Bull Ampol Racing stars Will Brown and Broc Feeney don't see eye to eye on the hopes of their bp Adelaide Grand Final rival Kai Allen in next weekend's Adelaide showdown.
Feeney, Brown, and second seed Chaz Mostert all bring considerable reputations with them into the Grand Final. Feeney tops the wins and poles charts in 2025, Brown is the reigning champion, and Mostert is a two-time Bathurst winner.
Allen, however, is the ultimate unknown.
In just his first season, his rise through the ranks has been nothing short of remarkable, going from being a self-confessed "idiot" to start the season to a consistent top 10 runner.
It's this relentless consistency that has got the 20-year-old right the way through to a Grand Final berth, with the likes of Ryan Wood, Brodie Kostecki, Cam Waters, and teammate Matt Payne all stumbling ahead of him.
Allen has five podiums to his name for the year, but is still yet to claim his first career win or pole position. When asked post-race on Sunday if he was relieved to see some fancied runners miss the final four, Brown didn't mince his words.
"I think it's a relief that some of the guys that are obviously extremely fast [aren't in the Grand Final], I think it's a relief that Ryan Wood's not in there, Cam's not in there, Brodie Kostecki isn't in there," said Brown.
"They're all guys that would be very fast at Adelaide, and still will be very fast at Adelaide. I'm sure Anton [De Pasquale] will be very fast as well, but they're all guys who race hard, and could definitely come out as a car that wins that weekend.
"I think our biggest threat right now is Chaz. He was obviously extremely fast there last year, he's always fast at Adelaide.
"There's guys that you definitely want to get through, and Kai could shock us, but I'd say we're happy that Kai got through."
However, whilst Brown was quick to turn his focus towards Mostert, who has claimed three wins and a fourth in his Finals campaign to date, Feeney went the other way.
"It's very easy to look at certain people and go I wish they were in, or I wish they weren't in," said Feeney, whose last-lap Bathurst pass of Andre Heimgartner promoted Allen into The Finals.
"But, man, Kai's in there for a reason. He can thank me actually, because I got him through into The Finals on the last lap at Bathurst, so he can thank me for that.
"No one expected him to get through Gold Coast, no one expected him to get through here. The bloke could go and bloody win the championship."
"We've got to be realistic about that. Cam and Matt have won at Adelaide the last couple of years, they're both extremely fast there, and I've got no doubt Kai is going to be running up the front.
"We've got our hands full with the three others that are in there. I'm not writing Kai off by any means.
"I think everyone who was in The Finals has a chance of winning a race in Adelaide. We'll just do our thing, focus on ourselves, try and win some races, and whoever we're going against we will beat."
It's worth noting that Allen has a history of being in championship calculations in Adelaide, having contested title deciders in the last three runnings of the Dunlop Series.
In 2022, he lost out on the Super3 title with a final day crash at the infamous Turn 8. 12 months later, he became the youngest ever Super2 champion in a come from behind fairytale, before losing out again last year, this time from an outsider position.
