Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!
Round 9 of the 2026 Supercars Championship, The Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 was held on the 21 – 23 August at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich.
This was the final round for the Sprint Cup.
Coming into this event Matt Payne had a 118 point lead over Broc Feeney, so this was primarily a showdown between the two drivers.
Broc Feeney was last year’s Sprint Cup winner and desperate to make up for his loss to Chaz Mostert in the ‘Finals’ at the end of last season. He would also be starting his 150th race in Supercars which is an unbelievable milestone. Congratulations!
The first two races of the event were a short mad sprint of 39 laps, worth 80 points each. The third race was longer, 62 laps and worth 140 points for the winner.
It was assumed that this would be close between the 2 contenders but how close and how tense was yet to be seen.
In Race 26 Matt Payne started on pole position with Brodie Kostecki alongside him.
As the lights went out Brodie Kostecki led into turn 1 for the first of 39 laps. Matt Payne sat in 2nd place, while Will Brown and Chaz Mostert traded 3rd and 4th several times.
Mostert was unable to break away from Will Brown’s attack so pitted on lap 9 for clear track.
On lap 19 Brodie Kostecki pitted from the race lead and rejoined in 12th place.
Once the drivers ahead took their mandatory stops Brodie Kostecki would assume the number 1 position.
In such a short race it’s difficult for any driver to make a great lead over the others. They tend to stay bunched up and always face risks while attacking or defending.
Over the last 5 or so laps the order didn’t change.
Brodie Kostecki crossed the finish line to take the win.
Matt Payne held 2nd place to earn 74 points.
Kai Allen came in 3rd, but an earlier time penalty applied after the race pushed him off the podium into 5th.
Will Brown took 3rd while his teammate Broc Feeny took 4th earning 67 points.
Payne’s point lead over Feeney was now 125. The Sprint Cup was still up for grabs.
Race 26 results:
1st Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
2nd Matt Payne – Grove Racing
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
4th Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
5th Kai Allen – Grove Racing
For Race 27 Matt Payne started in pole position again. Alongside him was Brodie Kostecki.
This time Matt Payne took the lead in the first of the 39 laps.
Will Brown overtook Chaz Mostert for third place.
Matt Payne lost the lead to Brodie Kostecki and shortly after lost another spot to Will Brown.
Broc Feeney rounded out the top 5 places.
In the middle of the race Will Brown, and Anton de Pasquale pitted on lap 19. Broc Feeney followed by James Golding were temporarily left in the lead as the pit cycle began.
Within a few laps Brodie Kostecki was once again in the lead. He ran wide at turn 3 dropping 2 spots to Kai Allen and Matt Payne.
On the following lap 24 Rylan Gray got stuck in the gravel trap and the safety car had to be deployed.
The restart was on lap 30. Kai Allen was in control followed by Matt Payne and Will Brown.
Will Brown was right on the back of Matt Payne for second place. Brodie Kostecki hit Will Brown from behind. This launched Brown forward, and in an effort to avoid hitting Matt Payne in front of him he steered to the outside and ended up taking over.
Zac Bates was spun into a sand trap by Ben Gomersall, and the safety car was deployed again.
Shortly after the race restarted and with only 6 laps remaining, Will Brown took the lead from Kai Allen. Brodie Kostecki took up 2nd place followed by Kai Allen and then Broc Feeney in 4th.
Over the remaining laps Feeney outmatched Kai Allen to take up 3rd place. Kai Allen who held the number 1 spot just a few laps ago was now off the podium.
In the end Will Brown crossed the finish line closely followed by Brodie Kostecki and then Broc Feeney in third place.
Matt Payne came in 6th to earn 53 points against Broc Feeney’s 68 points for 3rd place.
So far Broc Feeney had only gained 8pts on Matt Payne’s lead. There was 110 points difference with only one race left to decide.
Race 27 results:
1st Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
After taking his first win in about 12 months in the last race, Will Brown followed up by earning pole position in race 28. Alongside him on the front row of the grid was Broc Feeney.
As the race got underway Broc Feeney took the lead in the first of 62 laps.
On approach to turn 3 Will Brown was side by side with teammate Broc Feeney. As they got closer to the turn, Brown eased off and gave away his driver’s line to Feeney. This was to assist Feeney in his battle with Matt Payne for the Sprint Cup. Brown’s actions were a perfect example of good sportsmanship.
On lap 5 Jackson Walls must have made contact with a barrier or another car and was leaving a smoke trail behind. It was his front guard pushed in against the tyre causing the smoke. Weirdly it stopped over the next lap.
By the end of lap 6 Broc Feeney had a 1.7 second lead over Will Brown in second spot.
The first car to pit was Declan Fraser on lap 11.
The first of the front runners to pit was Kai Allen from 4th place on lap 17.
Broc Feeney pitted from the race lead on lap 21 and returned in 12th place. Once the cars ahead of him took their pit stops, he would resume as leader.
Not long after Chaz Mostert made his first compulsory pit stop, his car slowed down and had to return to the pits. The team soon declared he would not be returning to the track. They would get no points and receive an NC (Not Complete) for the race.
By the middle of the race Broc Feeney was still in the number 1 spot and had worked hard to create a 6.6 seconds lead over Will Brown. Kai Allen was sitting in 3rd place.
Matt Payne who was 5th, began to slow. There was something wrong with his car and he had to go into the pits. Hanging over the team was the big question, “Was he going to be able to complete the race and earn enough points to stay ahead of Feeney to win the Sprint Cup?”.
It seemed like a really long time before the team announce that Matt Payne was unable to return to the race! He earned no points and received an NC.
Now the question everybody was asking was “Could Feeney come 3rd or better to close the 110 point gap to Matt Payne’s total?”. If he did, he would win the Sprint Cup for the second year in a row.
With10 laps remaining Brodie Kostecki had already overtaken Will Brown and was now putting pressure on Broc Feeney. The rest of the pack were a long way behind, about 10 seconds.
Feeney didn’t crack under the pressure and kept his lead. All he needed was a podium finish to win the Sprint Cup but, of course taking the win would be the icing on the cake.
Broc Feeney raced across the finish line with a 1.453 second win over Brodie Kostecki. It was 12 + seconds later that Will Brown led the rest of the pack and take 3rd place.
What a fantastic result for Broc Feeney. He took the race win, which also gave him the Sprint Cup trophy for the second year in a row. In addition, he receives a bonus 25 points towards the finals.
Race 28 Results:
1st Broc Feeney – Red Bull Ampol Racing
2nd Brodie Kostecki – Shell V-Power Racing Team
3rd Will Brown – Red Bull Ampol Racing
The next event is the Air Touch 500 at the Bend September 11 – 13 2026. It’s the first of the season’s 2 Endurance races. I can’t wait and hope you’ll join me.