Cam Waters in box seat to qualify for 2026 Finals in Ipswich
Tickford Racing star sits 598 points clear, needs to be 601 ahead to clinch
Waters has 3.4 race average, 2.9 qualifying average across last three events
Tickford Racing is letting Cam Waters get on with the job as the Mustang star closes on qualification for the 2026 Supercars Finals.
Waters is in the box seat, as are Sprint Cup leader Matt Payne and Broc Feeney, to clinch his Finals berth ahead of the Ryco Enduro Cup.
After a turbulent start to the season, Waters has been a force since Darwin, claiming three poles and winning twice to put himself well clear of the cut-line.
Tickford Team Manager Matt Roberts, though, insists the team is simply letting their man keep it simple, rather than worry about the scoreboard.
“We're not worried about that one little bit with him,” Roberts told Supercars.com.
“We know week in, week out, he's gonna be in the first two spots in qualifying or, if not, top three.
“He's in a solid place at the moment. I was only talking to him about an hour ago. He was on his way to the pool for a 2km swim and a gym session. He's more than focused and ready to go.
"Equally as is Tom [Randle]. They've both been working really hard off the track, which is good because that's what it takes these days to be an elite high performing driver.”
Waters’ performance is on track to be hard to stop — per Supercars data analyst Scott Sinclair, Waters is having a career season when it comes to moving forward in the race.
Sinclair writes: "For the first time in his career, he's making meaningful ground on race day, averaging a two-position gain on where he qualifies. Last year was +0.3; before that, ten seasons of going backwards.
"Having a qualifying average under eight and averaging a two-position gain in the races is rare. It's only been done once in the last 10 years — by Will Brown in his championship-winning 2024 season.
"Three of the last four championships have been won by drivers showing exactly the trend Waters is showing right now, Chaz Mostert included. Prior to that, no championship back to 2009 had been won by a driver who moved forward as much in the races.”
Waters is 598 points clear of the cut-line, and needs to be 601 clear after Ipswich to mathematically qualify for the Finals.
Track action at Queensland Raceway commences on Friday.
