Race 8 of the Repco Supercars Championship came down to a stoush between the two Triple Eight Race Engineering drivers, with Brown making the decisive pass for the lead on Lap 52.

He was made to work for it, though, with a grip-limited Feeney staving off the #87 Camaro for several laps before letting the door open just wide enough at Turn 5 of Taupo International Motorsport Park.

They barely avoided contact then, and also on a number of other occasions despite how hard both were clearly pushing.

Brown, who declared it “the best race of my life … I reckon,” did give Car #88 one nudge during the battle.

However, there was no flashpoint despite just how much is at stake in their battle not only for intra-team supremacy, but also in the championship.

“You do have to be careful,” said Feeney.

“If we do come together, there is going to be pretty big ramifications, I think, on Monday morning,” he laughed.

“But look, I think we raced probably as hard as we could and being super-respectful, not rubbing panels all the time.

“You’re probably going to rub someone up a little bit more when it’s not your team-mate.

“But look, obviously I would have liked to stay in front, but I think the racing that we put on was pretty awesome.

“It was good fun for a tight, little twisty track – we had some pretty cool moves going on – so it was good fun.

“Obviously, you know, you’ve got someone that you trust with Will.

“I think the engineers were probably a little bit more stressed out than we were in the car; we were just having a bit of fun.

“So yeah, it was a good race. Obviously, I would have rather come out in front, but I’m pretty pumped for the team.”

The change of position represented a 24-point swing in the drivers’ championship, which Brown now leads by 71 over Feeney.

Triple Eight’s teams’ championship lead has ballooned to 481 points after just three events, with 586 on offer next time out at Wanneroo (including fastest lap bonus points).