Legends back Feeney to lead Triple Eight title charge

Mark Skaife has tipped Triple Eight to "play favourite" at Sandown, with Mark Winterbottom tipping Broc Feeney to go all the way should Will Brown be eliminated.

Red Bull Ampol Racing is the only team with two drivers left in the 2026 Repco Supercars Finals Series, after Penrite Racing's Kai Allen and Walkinshaw TWG Racing's Ryan Wood were eliminated on the Gold Coast.

One of Feeney, Brown, Matt Payne, Brodie Kostecki, Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters and Anton De Pasquale will become 2026 champion in Adelaide — but only four will progress from Sandown.

Feeney and Brown both qualified for Adelaide last year, but neither delivered the drivers' title to Triple Eight in a dramatic finale. As it was last year, Brown starts Sandown outside the top four, and needing a big weekend to progress.

Feeney returned to form with a brilliant win on the Gold Coast, again putting breathing room between himself and his teammate heading to the Semi Final.

Where Payne, Kostecki, Mostert, Waters and De Pasquale can call on their teammates for support, Triple Eight could be facing an awkward call to prioritise one of their drivers, something the Walkinshaw team used to great effect last year as Wood protected Mostert from Brown.

"He played the defence game so well," five-time Supercars champion Skaife said of Wood's 2025 Sandown performance on MotorRacing 360.

"But think about that for Matt Payne too, because Kai Allen's gonna be right up there, so they can play a role now.

"For me, the one that actually stands out is Red Bull Ampol Racing, when you've got Will Brown and Broc Feeney, how does that play out now? Because at some point, and it'll probably happen through the course of Sandown, you've actually got to play to your favourite."

The Feeney of 2026 is a vastly different product to 2025, when he blazed to a season-high 14 wins and record 19 pole positions. Feeney has had to fight his way to the top, and benefited from a Payne DNF to win the Repco Sprint Cup.

As it was in 2025, Brown has largely been able to go with his teammate, though as it turned out battled with an incorrect air restrictor through the opening half of the year, but has remained a factor through sheer consistency.

Winterbottom believes Feeney is in the box seat for Adelaide should Brown fail to progress.

"I think having Will Brown out of the top four will help [Feeney] massively,” Winterbottom said.

"Because when the team focuses purely on you, you have a little bit more, I don't know, you just get stronger, the chest comes out a bit, it's about me, I've got friendship and allies in my corner.

"What he did on the weekend was unbelievable, and the bounce back on Sunday, he was under pressure. Brodie was right behind him. He drove away. I thought he controlled the weekend really well, other than the race pace Saturday.

"He needs Will Brown in his corner. So I think if Will Brown gets knocked out, he goes on and wins it."

Track action at Sandown commences on Friday November 6.