It was a fruitful trip across the Tasman for Feeney and the Red Bull Ampol squad, which yielded the Jason Richards Trophy after a dramatic final race in Christchurch.
That race also helped Feeney to the top of the drivers’ standings, while Triple Eight claimed top spot in the teams’ standings in Taupo and retained it after Christchurch.
At the same time Feeney didn’t win a single race across the NZ swing, which in itself is a reflection of Triple Eight’s start to its latest era as a Ford team.
While Feeney dominated most of the Sprint Cup in Chevrolet hardware last year, seemingly taking poles and wins with ease, Triple Eight has often been out-classed on pure pace by fellow Ford teams Grove Racing and Dick Johnson Racing this time around.
That is something Feeney is happy to admit, outlining how the move from the Camaro to the Mustang is still a work in progress.
“It is for sure,” said Feeney when asked by Speedcafe if the fluctuating form is down to the Ford change.
“Obviously we walk away with the [JR] Trophy, but we’re very far from where we want to be right now.
“I mean, [Grove Racing] made us look pretty silly over the last couple of days [in Christchurch].
“I’m a Broncos man, but you watch a team like Penrith over the last couple of years and they keep turning up. They can have a tough one, but they keep getting points.
“For us, on our bad weekends to still be able to turn up and still get it done is awesome. But we know we need to be able to win races to fight for this championship.
“We did that at Round 1 but since then we’ve been on the back foot a little bit. We’re trying to understand what this car needs to go fast.
“Every weekend we’ve raced it, Sunday’s been a really strong result for us, bar the [Australian] Grand Prix.
“Last weekend in the second [Taupo] race we were really competitive. [Sunday in Christchurch] we were more competitive, but Matt [Payne], once again, made us all look pretty silly.
“So we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Grove Racing made its title ambitions clear with an incredibly strong Christchurch weekend that included Kai Allen’s first Supercars race win on Friday and wins for Payne on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
“It’s always concerning when somebody beats you,” said Feeney of the Grove Mustang speed.
“You’re never happy when you get smoked. They’ve got some really smart guys there. They’ve done a great job, you can see the trajectory over the last couple of years.”
Still, Feeney is confident that some hard work during the upcoming four-week break, and a return to Australian soil and traditionally strong Triple Eight circuits like Tasmania and Darwin, will help bolster car speed.
“We just need to dig deep and start really understanding our package,” he said.
“I always say that once you get back home, the next few rounds is where the championship really kicks off.
“Sydney, Grand Prix, these New Zealand tracks, they are quite different to what we race on usually.
“Once we get back to Tassie, Perth, Darwin, those sorts of tracks, that’s where we built into a groove last year and went on a really good run.
“I’m looking forward to getting back and getting to work and trying to be a bit faster.”
Discussion about this post