Why Blanchard believes Supercars Finals dream is now a reality

When the front row for the season opener was locked out by two Blanchard Racing Team Ford Mustangs, it was one of the great Supercars feel-good stories in recent memory.

Sure enough, both Aaron Cameron and James Golding picked up silverware on the Friday night, however their tales of the tape have taken on very different stories.

While Cameron's blinding one-lap pace, which sees him ranked fourth in the field on qualifying average, hasn't been converted into any big results, Golding has continued to be a revelation.

He has only missed the top 10 in qualifying once all year, while in Race 12 he returned to the podium after an inspired strategy gamble paid massive dividends.

It was a stark contrast to 12 months ago in New Zealand, where Cameron and James Courtney were woefully slow, to the point where the 2010 champion described Taupō as the 'worst weekend of his career.'

The huge uptick in performance is exactly what team owner Tim Blanchard wanted to see, as Golding extended his gap over the Finals bubble to 84 points.

"We were quite anxious coming to New Zealand, so to have a trophy and Jimmy Golding in the Top 10 in the championship was a great outcome from the weekend," said Blanchard.

“On the other side of the garage it was another weekend when had a very fast car with lots of promise, but Aaron Cameron just got caught up in things going wrong.

"We have to work out what to do to manage that better, because he’s fast and we've just got to smooth off the rough edges.

“I’m much more relaxed now about the rest of the year. We just have to continue building from here.”

Perhaps most telling is that luck appeared to be on Golding's side throughout the four-race weekend in Christchurch.

First there was a bizarre pit lane entry incident in Race 11, where Golding nearly found himself cleaned up by Macauley Jones as he sat perpendicular to the direction of travel.

However, while that moment was caught on camera, Supercars.com has obtained footage of how close the CoolDrive Mustang was to being wiped out in the wild Brodie Kostecki/Chaz Mostert clash that dominated headlines.

Had those two moments gone another way, Golding would likely be out of the top 10 and looking to fight his way back in next time out at Tasmania, a circuit where he does have form.

However, luck certainly doesn't go astray in this game. And it could be the sign the ultimate underdog story may have several chapters left to be written.

Golding resumes his 2026 season in Tasmania on May 22-24.