Kostecki caps comeback with Townsville beatdown

Brodie Kostecki reminded everyone that he isn't out of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship hunt by a long shot, claiming his sixth win of the season in the NTI Townsville 500 finale.

After falling to third early off a front row start, Kostecki was in imperious form through the middle stint of the race, winning by just shy of 10 seconds, delivering a pointed message over team radio post-race.

"That's how we come back."

In fact, the only mistake Kostecki made was post-race, when he clouted the wall doing a celebratory burnout, in scenes reminiscent of Will Davison in 2013.

After missing the final race of the Darwin Triple Crown, Kostecki has now jumped back ahead of Cam Waters into third in the points standings.

Waters nailed the start from pole position, and was clear of Kostecki by the time they arrived at the Turn 1 kink, however it was Ryan Wood who braked that latest of all at Turn 2 from third.

He sailed right the way around the outside of Kostecki, and briefly Waters in an amazing sequence, before the Monster Mustang fought back at Turn 3, and regained the lead.

There was chaos behind in the usual Turn 2 concertina, as Aaron Cameron was tagged into a spin in the middle of the pack, with Andre Heimgartner spinning off to the outside after copping a hit from Cooper Murray.

Anton De Pasquale and Macauley Jones were both parked behind Cameron's spun Ford, with Jones then clobbered by Reuben Goodall.

The Safety Car was deployed for the first time all weekend before the opening lap was complete, with Cameron, Jones, and Goodall all returning to the garage with damage, and Heimgartner bringing a sick-sounding Toyota back in a double disaster for Brad Jones Racing.

Cameron, Jones, and Heimgartner were all done for the day, the Kiwi's Toyota ruled out after dropping a cylinder, having otherwise gotten away with the opening lap mess.

There was also an awkward moment as the Safety Car was called, with Murray tagging James Golding into a spin at Turn 11, the Erebus driver copping a 15 second penalty.

It was only a short intervention from the Safety Car, with Waters getting a good restart and controlling the opening stint, whilst Wood dropped back and was overtaken by Kostecki on lap 8.

Kostecki was the first of the leaders to pit at the end of lap 16, and was followed into the lane by championship leader Matt Payne from fifth.

Chaz Mostert made his first stop on lap 20 in his 200th start for Walkinshaw TWG Racing, emerging back on track about five seconds behind Payne.

After their flare-up on Saturday, Wood and Kai Allen found themselves in battle again, with a mistake from the Kiwi on lap 23 giving the Penrite Racing Ford easy passage through to second on road.

Waters came in from the lead on lap 25, followed by the Mobil 1 Truck Assist Toyota, however both Kostecki and Payne gained a substantial undercut, the #17 Ford moving to the effective race lead.

The last of the leaders to pit was Kai Allen, who looked to be replicating the strategy used by Anton De Pasquale on Saturday by running a 30-lap opening stint.

That left Kostecki with a six-second advantage over Payne, whilst Waters had dropped to be nine seconds back after the first stop cycle.

Waters caught up to Payne on lap 37, having a look to the inside of Turn 2, before getting the job done one lap later with a hint of rear locking. Allen got Feeney for sixth at the same place mere seconds later.

Payne was the first of the leaders to make their final stop on lap 42, leaving the Kiwi with a long 26-lap run to the flag, with Mostert diving in the following lap.

Allen was also continuing to work his way back into the mix, ranging up on to the back of Wood again on lap 46, but this time Wood proved sterner opposition.

Kostecki dived in from the lead on lap 48, an even 20-lap split standing between the 2023 champion and his sixth win of the season.

Wood pitted the following lap as he continued to come under pressure from Allen, whilst Waters and Allen made their final stops on lap 50, Waters taking on a smaller amount of fuel after a long fill in his first stop.

However, both had hold ups, Waters having a slow tyre change and not getting all his fuel onboard, falling off the podium and behind Mostert in the process, whilst also forcing the #6 into maximum fuel save.

Allen, meanwhile, was forced to go back up on the jacks with a left front wheel that wasn't properly fastened, dropping him right off the battle for the podium.

When the final stops played out, Kostecki was left with a commanding four second advantage, which he managed right to the chequered flag.

Despite the fuel save, Waters closed up on his old sparring partner Mostert with eight laps remaining and a podium on the line, Mostert making the job hassle-free by sidestepping at the final corner.

The battle for the final step of the podium closed right up with Waters ultra-marginal on fuel, however he managed to hang on to third, behind Kostecki and Payne.

Mostert and Wood were fourth and fifth in a strong day for WTWGR and Toyota, with Feeney, Allen, Brown, Jack Le Brocq, and Jayden Ojeda rounding out the top 10, Le Brocq jumping back inside the Finals bubble after Golding's tough day.

The penultimate round of the 2026 Repco Sprint Cup will be held at the Bosch Power Tools Perth Super 440 from July 31-August 2.