Anton De Pasquale hunting 2026 Grand Final spot
Team 18 driver was a standout at Sandown last year
Five Fords, one Chevrolet and one Toyota left in Finals
Chevrolet spearhead Anton De Pasquale is motivated to return to one of Team 18's stronger circuits in a bid to reach the 2026 bp Adelaide Grand Final.
De Pasquale scraped through the Gold Coast by the skin of his teeth, clinching the seventh and last Finals spot after a tense conclusion to the Surfers Paradise finale.
A team orders attempt by Walkinshaw TWG Racing to get Ryan Wood in didn't work out, as the Camaros of Jarrod Hughes and Cooper Murray, as well as Macauley Jones, stopped late to promote De Pasquale up the order.
De Pasquale finished fourth for the round at Sandown last November, finishing second in the Sunday race after leading in the opening stint.
The potential strengths of the Camaro package at Sandown, namely on straights, have already raised eyebrows down at Ford powerhouse Triple Eight, Team Manager Mark Dutton telling Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast he would have preferred Ryan Wood qualify over De Pasquale.
“That would've been better than De Pasquale getting through. We're going to Sandown, and they could be super strong there, the Chevy. So yeah, it would've been good," Dutton claimed.
“If they had have had two cars through, then you don't have a tailgunner. You've got both vying for position."
Now General Motors' last man standing, De Pasquale is hopeful his team — which has made significant gains in 2026 — can continue its upwards trend with car speed after a standout October, headlined by a fast Bathurst and provisional Race 31 pole on the Gold Coast.
"Sandown was one of our stronger tracks last year," De Pasquale said post-race.
"We're doing a really good job at getting a lot of car speed out of the car, the last month.
"It was really surprising on Friday to put it on provisional pole, we weren't that strong here last year.
"So we're excited to get to a strong track a year on, and hopefully we're fast."
Team 18 Team Principal Adrian Burgess echoed his driver's comments, saying on Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast: “We’ve got one dog in the fight for Sandown, and I think all eyes focused on going there.
“We had a strong event there last year, but that doesn't mean you're gonna this year, but we've gotta take some confidence that we got through.”
De Pasquale maintained the potential swap would be something the team would touch on its it debrief, but maintains the ambition is to "throw everything at it" in the quest to push GM all the way to Adelaide.
"To get to Sandown and give ourselves a chance, that's all what we're about," De Pasquale said.
"Obviously we're pretty well aware that we're up against some good competitors, and we're not the favourites heading in there and all that, which is fine.
“But we're excited to throw everything at it, walk out of there with our heads held high, win or lose. But, we're going in there to win."
Track action at Sandown commences on Friday November 6.
