David Reynolds battled gremlins in his Ford Mustang, but still climbed 12 places in the opening Repco Supercars Championship race at Sandown.
An undercut strategy paved the way for Reynolds to gain position through the pit cycle, charging through the field to finish 12th in a race that was won by Shell V-Power Racing’s Will Davison.
After pitting early, the Penrite Racing driver demonstrated strong pace in clear air, setting the fastest lap to that point on Lap 8, with a 1:08.4743s whilst he was in 22nd.
Earlier, Reynolds was denied an opportunity to set a flying lap in Qualifying for Race 24, leaving him to start the encounter from 24th on the grid, after he was caught out by the red flag for James Golding.
A combination of strong car pace and a bold strategy call, saw Reynolds convert a lowly 24th grid spot into a 12th place finish.
“I had a few hurdles our there today,” he remarked.
“Qualifying sucked, I was within 100 metres or so of the finish line on my flying lap before the red flag came out.
“Once the race started I lost all my shift lights and my dash early, so I had to go totally old school during the race.
“Then at my pit stop the engine almost stalled, just like what happened to Lee [Holdsworth].
“Thankfully my car had really good in race trim and when I got into clean air I made up heaps of spots with the undercut.
“It was a good strategy call from the team today.
“I’m keen to see what we can do with a better qualifying performance for the two races tomorrow.”
In his 500th race start in Supercars, Holdsworth finished 24th in the sister Penrite Racing Ford Mustang.
Having run 13th in the opening stint, even leading two laps during the pit cycle, his return to the race following his own stop was slowed due to his car flaming out.
The delay saw him re-join proceedings in last, gaining one spot in the run to the chequered flag.
Supercars are back on track on Sunday for back-to-back qualifying sessions for Races 25 and 26 from 10:55 AEST.
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