First Finals Contenders Locked In: Feeney, Payne and Brown

Broc Feeney is the first driver confirmed to race in the 2025 Supercars championship’s new Finals series – and potentially in the bp Adelaide Grand Final – after winning the Sprint Cup.

 

Another two drivers – Will Brown and Matt Payne – also have secured their places in the Finals after securing enough championship points during their strong starts to their seasons to be unassailable.

 

Supercars has changed its championship format this year, dividing the season into three parts – the Sprint Cup, the Enduro Cup, and the Finals.

The winners of the Sprint Cup and the Enduro Cup receive automatic entries into its new Finals series, which is held across the last three rounds of the year and culminates in the bp Adelaide Grand Final on November 27-30.

 

In total, 10 drivers will be eligible to win the championship at the start of the Finals, but by the time the Supercars season arrives at the streets of Adelaide, six of those drivers will have been eliminated from championship contention.

 

The remaining four drivers will race for the championship across the bp Adelaide Grand Final’s three races, alongside the 20 other drivers who will be racing to win coveted races and the Adelaide trophy on the renowned street circuit.

 

THE 2025 SPRINT CUP WINNER

The first eight events of this year have contributed to Supercars’ new Sprint Cup.

Feeney, from Red Bull Ampol Racing, accumulated the most points based on his results during these eight rounds, so was crowned the winner of the Sprint Cup at the end of the Ipswich Super 440 event in August.

 

Feeney’s run to the Sprint Cup title included 12 wins from the 24 completed races. Among them were three wins at the Townsville 500 and Melbourne SuperSprint street races, which have similar setups to the Adelaide racetrack.

 

Most of the other Sprint Cup races were held on permanent circuits, which can carry less risk for drivers when they make overtaking manoeuvres or push the limits. They do not have concrete fences that line the racetrack – like street circuits do – that can severely damage a race car when mistakes are made, potentially ending their race.

 

Feeney won two of the three races at the Tasmania Super 440 event; then two of the three races at the next event in Perth; and completed a clean sweep to take the Darwin Triple Crown.

 

Feeney also won two of the three races at the Ipswich Super 440 and was likely to win all if he had not been penalised for an illegal race start.

 

Ultimately, Feeney knows the championship will be decided at the Adelaide street circuit, so it will be his performance at that track that will truly count, if he is one of those four drivers still in contention.

 

He told Fox Sports he was focused on being as fresh, healthy and fit as he could be at the start of the Finals series to ensure he had the best chance of making it through the first two rounds to be among the drivers in championship contention at the bp Adelaide Grand Final.

 

“I want to try and get in there with as many points as I can, get through Gold Coast and get through Sandown and put myself in as good a position as I can come Adelaide,” he said.

“Adelaide is probably one of my strongest tracks so I’m looking forward to that – (I’m) certainly starting to look ahead (to the championship races at the end of the season).”

 

For his Sprint Cup win, Feeney has also been awarded 25 bonus points, which will provide him with a headstart in the championship points at the first Finals round at the Gold Coast.

 

At the end of the Gold Coast round, the three championship contenders with the lowest points tally from that weekend of racing will be eliminated from the Finals.

 

“I wanted to lead the championship and to be secured into Gold Coast is fantastic,” Feeney said.

 

“But for me, to have those bonus points is going to go a long way.

 

“We’re on an incredible run and the Finals are still to play out and there’s still a long way to go.”

 

THE EFFECT OF THE ENDURO CUP

The two rounds of the Enduro Cup, which follow the Sprint Cup in September and October, also play a part in the 2025 Supercars championship Finals series.

 

The driver who accumulates the most points across the two events at The Bend and Bathurst also receives automatic eligibility to race in The Finals.

 

They receive 25 bonus points as well to use as a headstart at the Gold Coast Finals event.

 

In the enduros, the drivers are joined by co-drivers, meaning their fate may not lie on their shoulders alone. If their co-driver is not on the top of their game, they may cost the lead driver valuable positions on the racetrack, and every lost position means lost championship points.

 

Each enduro race also has a higher points allocation available, with a maximum of 300 points for the winners.

 

It means some drivers who finish well may be able to catch up in the points standings to secure one of the 10 spots available for The Finals, while others may fall back if they have a bad result (or worse, Did Not Finish).

 

OTHER FINALS CONTENDERS

 

The remaining eight drivers in the Finals field – or nine drivers, if Feeney backs up his Sprint Cup win with an Enduro Cup win – will be those who have accumulated the most points based on their results across the first 10 events of the season.

 

Brown and Payne have already accumulated enough points this season to cement their spot in the Finals, regardless of their Enduro Cup results.

 

As of August, the other seven drivers who are in the top 10 are Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert, Brodie Kostecki, Anton De Pasquale, Andre Heimgartner, Ryan Wood and Tom Randle.

 

The top 10 list includes five previous Adelaide race winners (Feeney, Brown, Payne, Waters, Mostert) and three previous Adelaide 500 champions (Feeney, Brown, Payne).

 

However, only Brown has had the pressure of winning a championship on their shoulders when racing on the streets of Adelaide.

 

He did so in 2024, under the previous championship format, when the champion was appointed based on their total season points tally. He scored enough points in the Saturday race to secure the championship, then backed up his winning form by winning the Sunday Adelaide race.

 

Because the Finals format has been structured to ensure a closer points gap, it will not be as easy for this year’s champion.

 

Meanwhile, knocking on the door of the top 10 are Kai Allen, Cameron Hill and Nick Percat.

 

Allen came into form at the latter part of the Sprint Cup by featuring on the podium four times – at the Darwin and Ipswich rounds – and if it continues, he may find a spot in the top 10.

 

Hill won a race at the Melbourne SuperSprint, where Percat also stood on the podium twice.

 

Both will need to find that form again to make it into the Finals – and the chance to race through to the championship deciding event in Adelaide.