Why Allen can write the ultimate Supercars fairytale

It would've taken a brave person to suggest Kai Allen would finish inside the top seven in his rookie Supercars season.

It would've taken a foolish person to suggest that Kai Allen would finish inside the top seven when he was buried down in 19th after Round 4 in Tasmania.

Yet, here we are. With the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 just two weeks away, Kai Allen is one of the seven drivers set to duke it out in the Semi Final.

It's something not even Penrite Racing could've imagined would happen when they signed him in August last year.

A baptism of fire for a generational talent

The jump from Super2 to Supercars is about as big as they come, even the best take their time to settle in. As a 19-year-old Allen took to Sydney Motorsport Park, he proved no exception.

A baptism of fire it was for the rookie, though there was an early glimpse of his potential with a fine weekend in his first ever visit to Taupō, a sign of what was to come.

However, Team Principal David Cauchi was impressed with what he saw even if he results weren't there, saying after Melbourne: “Kai's doing a great job. Even at SMP, to be honest, he showed the class act that he is.

“You know, he'd never raced here before. This is a big circuit, lots of corners. We saw some superstars at the back of the grid.

The penny drops, the points rack up

After the fourth round of the season in Tasmania, Allen found himself some 195 points off the top 10 Finals bubble. Meanwhile, teammate Matt Payne was flying, having just pipped Broc Feeney for his third win of the season.

It was at this point where Allen emerged as a frontrunner, with double podium weekends in Darwin and Ipswich. It was his true arrival in the main game.

To underscore the form that Allen had struck, only Payne, Feeney, Cam Waters, Will Brown, and Brodie Kostecki outscored him in the second half of the regular season from Darwin to Bathurst..

In the midst of that run, the #26 Penrite Mustang soared towards the Finals bubble, surging from 17th to 12th in Darwin, and ultimately breaking his way in to the top 10 at The Bend.

Despite being punted off the road three times and having to avoid a kangaroo on Conrod Straight, Allen managed to secure his Finals berth by just three points, following an epic mid-season rally.

A stunning Finals debut

Entering Surfers Paradise 10th and last of the Finals Drivers put Allen under the least pressure of anyone. The only way was up.

12th on the grid for the first qualifying session was perhaps slightly disappointing given a strong start on Friday, however when there was a flurry of bp pulse Safety Cars early, Penrite Racing cooked up another mighty strategy.

Allen drove an almighty 60 lap stint to the finish, conserving both fuel and tyres whilst also generating enough pace where it looked as though Allen might've claimed the ultimate 'win and you're in' for a brief moment.

The very next day we saw the complete opposite end of the scale, as he hounded Thomas Randle for sixth late in the race. Contact was made, and Randle backed into the wall at the final corner, but Allen kept a level head, redressing on the spot.

When Randle made a mistake and swiped the wall at Turn 2 after a late race restart, Allen pounced at the Turn 4 hairpin with authority.

If Anton De Pasquale hadn't been penalised behind, it was a move that would've knocked Randle out of The Finals. It was as ruthless as it was brilliant.

In one weekend, we saw all of the traits of a champion of the future.

The task ahead

The Elimination Final on the Gold Coast proved that it doesn't matter who you are or what you've achieved, these last three rounds will be as cutthroat as they get.

The championship calibre of Brodie Kostecki? The blinding speed of Ryan Wood? The consistency of Anton De Pasquale? It all counts for naught if you slip up.

However, Allen rose above it all, and impressively so. However, he must continue to excel. He now heads to two circuits where the Penrite Fords have excelled in Gen3, namely Sandown and Adelaide.

Payne ended his rookie campaign in 2023 with a crushing Adelaide 500 win, whilst the Penrite Fords have been the best performing Mustangs in the last two editions of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Trying to pick four Grand Finalists out of Feeney, Chaz Mostert, Payne, Waters, Brown, Allen, and Thomas Randle is nigh on impossible. There will certainly be tales of woe.

A home ground advantage?

It's something that gets spoken about ad nauseum in sport all around the world. It's something that the parochial South Australians absolutely get around.

Think of the scenes in March as South Australia broke a 29-year drought in the Sheffield Shield final at Karen Rolton Oval, or the packed crowds throughout the AFL season as the Crows won the minor premiership.

Just imagine the anticipation if one of their own, and a rising star at that was fighting for the Repco Supercars Championship in a months' time?

He might only be 20, but he is already well versed in championship battles in Adelaide, and every single time he's entered and exited in different manners.

He was the raging favourite for the Super3 crown in 2022. A crash in the final race handed it on a platter to fellow South Aussie Brad Vaughan.

Super2 in 2023, he was the underdog, Zak Best the favourite. However, Allen kept applying the pressure, and Best cracked. A win at home.

Last year, he entered with nothing to lose after a Bathurst disaster. On Sunday he played disruptor, bumping Aaron Cameron into the wall through no malice, but pure aggression and hard racing.

It's these weekends, combined with incredible natural talent and ability, that have made Kai Allen the driver he is today.

It's also why you should write him off at your peril.

The views in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of Supercars, teams or drivers.