This is the 13th exclusive Supercars.com column by Supercars Hall of Famer Craig Lowndes for the 2026 season. Seven-time Bathurst winner Lowndes will unpack each round of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship from his own perspective, continuing with last weekend's Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Is this the strongest final four we could have asked for? Yes. Looking to Saturday's race, we saw the cream rise to the top.
There's no doubt that they are the four that have been very consistent and fast all season, and are deserving to be in the Grand Final.
It’s tough to pick a favourite. The reason I'm hesitating is, if you look at their form at street circuits, especially at Adelaide, all four of them have been winners and are very strong.
Thinking this early, I'm leaning towards Broc Feeney. I think he’s going to use last year’s defeat as motivation to make sure he executes cleanly and smartly this year.
Dogs of war
I think it's a bit harsh to suggest Will Brown threw away his season on Saturday, in his battle with Brodie Kostecki.
In the moment, as a race car driver, you're always going to attack or defend, and he was doing both. In hindsight, if he had his time over again, he may have chose a different path.
I don't want to be too harsh on Will, but Brodie has had the upper hand on him for quite some time. Yes, they’re mates and yes, they do their podcast together. Will was looking to square it up, and it didn’t work out.
Finals intensity reaches new heights
What it shows, is that the 'win you're in’ rule is so important.
At one point on Sunday, Anton De Pasquale was in the top four on points, then he was out, and then the only way he could get through was with a win.
You saw that intensity in those closing laps on Sunday. Anton and Matt Payne were doing qualifying laps to get home. Matt was hanging on to win, and Anton was trying to catch and pass him.
Critically, that rule really helped Brodie out. Winning on Saturday — like Chaz Mostert did on the Gold Coast — takes a lot of pressure off, not only you as a driver, but that as a team.
It really saved Brodie with the drive-through penalty on Sunday. It wasn’t as big a drama, because he already knew that he'd got that golden ticket to Adelaide.
The Finals has brought the intensity. You even saw it when Anton crossed paths with Thomas Randle, who came out on cold tyres. Anton wasn’t happy.
The further down the order you are, the higher the intensity. The pressure that teams are under to execute a perfect pit stop, and also make sure that the strategy is absolutely 100% correct, is massive.
Getting you out in clean air or in front of another competitor sits with the teams, but then as a driver, you can’t make a mistake on the out-lap. You saw a lot of drivers run wide at Turn 1 on cold tyres.
Let the games begin
Team tactics are going to be a big thing for Adelaide. We saw it last year. We saw it in the last couple of rounds, to help your teammate get to that next stage.
This is the last stop. This is the Grand Final. There will absolutely be tactics.
I’m fascinated by how Triple Eight plays it, now they have one car left. Will can definitely help Broc, the same as Ryan Wood did with Chaz last year. Kai Allen needs a fast car to help Matt Payne.
The only outstanding question is how Brodie can win, given he doesn’t have a wingman, because Rylan Gray is a rookie. Around a street circuit like Adelaide, you need commitment. Unfortunately for Brodie, he may be a lone ranger.
One round to go
It's been an unbelievable season. We've seen drama, we've seen fast cars, we've seen consistent cars, we’ve seen controversy, and we’ve seen shocks.
Matt basically dominated the Sprint Cup, but an issue out of his control gave it to Broc. Broc missed out last year in a similar way. That’s racing.
The story hasn't been written yet of who the champion will be. Good luck picking it!
The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.
