Brown/Pye win Sandown 500 in Triple Eight one-two

Brown and Pye led Triple Eight Race Engineering teammates Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup in a time-certain finish that was cut short to 154 laps.

PremiAir Nulon Racing’s James Golding and David Russell stunned with third place for the team’s first Supercars podium.

Matt Payne and Garth Tander were the leading Ford Mustang entry for Penrite Racing while Triple Eight’s Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard of Cooper Murray and Craig Lowndes were fifth.

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Erebus Motorsport’s Jack Le Brocq crashed in the dying minutes of the race after a clash with Payne, losing a potential fourth place finish for him and co-driver Jayden Ojeda.

Off the start line, it was Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Racing) who got the hole shot into Turn 1. Alongside him, Cameron Waters (#6 Monster Energy) lit up his rear wheels and immediately lost out to Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Racing) and Brodie Kostecki (#1 PowerPlay Racing).

At the first turn, Ryan Wood (#2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Racing) copped a hit from James Courtney (#7 Snowy River) and half-spun.

At the end of Lap 1, it was Brown from De Pasquale, Kostecki, Waters, Mostert, Andre Heimgartner (#8 R&J Batteries Racing), Feeney, Richie Stanaway (#26 Penrite Racing), Payne, and Golding.

De Pasquale lost out to Kostecki at Turn 3. The lightest contact resulted in the #11 going off the road, ceding positions to Waters and Mostert too.

De Pasquale complained about his car balance in the early going and dropped to ninth when Feeney passed him at Dandenong Road, allowing Stanaway and Payne through too.

On Lap 16, Cub Cadet Racing’s Mark Winterbottom speared off at Turn 9 and skated through the gravel, dropping to last.

Disaster for car #26 again at Sandown!

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

The first Safety Car of the race was called on Lap 24 when Stanaway’s engine suddenly seized. Moments later, the Full Course Yellow was drawn. There was carnage in the mid-pack as David Reynolds (#20 Tradie Beer Racing) rear-ended Will Davison (#17 Shell V-Power Racing Team) and Reynolds copped a hit from Tim Slade (#23 PremiAir Nulon Racing).

In the pit stop sequence, Feeney opted to stay out and gained places. Once the field cycled through, the Brown/Pye car led Waters/Moffat and Feeney/Whincup.

Todd Hazelwood took the reins of the #1 from Kostecki while Lee Holdsworth took over from Mostert. The top 10 was completed by Heimgartner/Fraser, Payne/Tander, Golding/Russell, DePasquale/D’Alberto, and Percat/O’Keeffe.

All but two cars had their co-drivers in for the second stint of the race, and it proved chaotic from the outset on the Lap 30 restart.

Declan Fraser got into the back of David Russell and shoved him wide at Turn 9, causing the Bathurst 1000 podium finisher to lose three positions on Lap 32.

There were a flurry of five-second penalties after the first round of pit stops. The Ford Mustangs of Wood/Coulthard and De Pasquale/D’Alberto both got pinged for an unsafe release. Fraser also got given a five-second penalty for his exchange with Russell.

DRAMA FOR CAR #1

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

On Lap 39, Hazelwood had his second crack at Whincup and paid the price for contact when the right front tyre punctured. Hazelwood understeered through the run-off and gave the concrete wall a graze.

The drama continued on Lap 42 when Holdsworth spun on his own from fourth after straddling the kerb awkwardly, splitting one of the car’s side skirts in half.

On Lap 43, Tyler Everingham (#55 Castrol Racing) passed Jordan Boys (#96 Pizza Hut Racing) at Turn 1 and Tim Slade’s co-driver Cameron McLeod tried to follow the Mustang through. However, McLeod got into the left rear of Boys and sent him spinning. For the contact, McLeod was given a drive-through penalty. After Saturday’s rain, the outfield kept Boys bogged and the Safety Car was duly called.

HOLDSWORTH SPINS!

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

The second round of pit stops began on Lap 44, led by Pye. Whincup overcut the top two by taking less fuel and duly took the lead of the race. Moffat also usurped Pye by short-filling.

Whincup led the field to green on Lap 48 and by Lap 51 it was a Red Bull one-two after Pye passed Moffat into Turn 1. Tander asserted he and Payne as the leading Ford pair on Lap 60 with a pass on Moffat at Turn 1.

Hazelwood was the biggest benefactor of the Safety Car having bunched the field up. By Lap 66, he was on the verge of cracking the top 10.

On Lap 68, there was chaos in the midfield when the right rear tyre deflated on Kai Allen’s #17 Ford Mustang and sent him into a spin.

Nick Percat’s co-driver Dylan O’Keeffe got caught in the melee. They made nose-to-nose contact and then wheel-to-wheel, which sent the #10 Chevrolet Camaro into the air. Debris was strewn across the track, which drew the Full Course Caution.

Car #17 and car #10 head into their garages after a big hit at Turn 12/13!

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

Some teams opted to take a “free” pit stop, which promoted Fraser to the lead, 13 seconds clear of Pye and Whincup. Holdsworth was fourth as the best Ford. He didn’t pit and the same was true for Michael Caruso (#18 Cub Cadet Racing) and Jaylyn Robotham (#14 Middy’s Racing) in fifth and sixth. Tander, Russell, Moffat, and Jayden Ojeda completed the top 10.

The race resumed on Lap 73 and as the halfway point approached the next round of pit stops began. Fraser pitted from the lead of the race on Lap 84 and finally served his five-second pit stop, handing the car over to Heimgartner at the same time.

With 73 laps remaining, Jaxon Evans (#50 SCT Logistics) buried his car in the Dandenong Road gravel trap of his own accord. The Safety Car was quickly called and the pit lane came alive.

Once the pit stops were completed and primary drivers got in it was Brown who led Feeney and surprise packet Golding who with the help of Russell crept their way forward. Payne was fourth and Waters fifth as the leading Fords. Le Brocq was sixth and Everingham sixth, the latter having not completed the necessary minimum required laps. Cooper Murray, Kostecki, and Wood completed the top 10.

Kostecki drew the ire of officials when his wheels started spinning in the air and was given a 15-second penalty for the indiscretion.

The race went green with 67 laps to go and Waters made quick work of Payne for fourth. Mostert pitted with 51 to go and set about blitzing the fastest laps of the race in a bid to undercut the top 10 runners.

Waters drops further down the pack 😬

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

Waters began to haemorrhage time at the end of his penultimate stint, falling from fourth to eighth in quick time. There was an awkward clash in the midst of that as he and Murray rubbed doors at Turn 6. He pitted for his final pit stop with just over 30 laps to go.

Golding pitted with 33 laps to go along with Payne, Le Brocq, and Everingham who swapped seats with Randle.

Brown pitted from the lead with 32 laps remaining, briefly giving Feeney the lead for all of one lap. On the rejoin, Feeney came out ahead of Brown but went deep. Brown straddled the outside kerb and the pair made light contact.

THE BULLS MAKE CONTACT 🤯

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

Off-strategy, Mostert rose to the lead but required one more pit stop. That made Brown the de facto race leader from Feeney and Le Brocq but just 25 laps from the finish, Golding usurped the Erebus driver for fourth on the road.

Mostert completed his final pit stop with 24 laps remaining and plummeted from first to 17th.

Kostecki was 11th when his car expired on the run to Dandenong Road. With his car parked, the Safety Car was called and Payne pitted from fifth for tyres and was followed in by Waters. Feeney pitted one lap later and a lap after that Brown came in too.

Once that pit stop sequence was completed, Brown led Feeney, Golding, Le Brocq, and Payne to set up a dash to the chequered flag.

THE BULLS MAKE CONTACT 🤯

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— Supercars (@supercars) September 15, 2024

With a time-certain finish looming, the race resumed with just under 10 minutes to go with Brown at the head of the field.

There was drama almost immediately as Payne passed Le Brocq at Turn 4. They made contact and the Erebus driver speared off the road, plummeting from fifth to 20th. No action was taken by the stewards.

In the dash to the chequered flag, Feeney tried his best to pass Brown but couldn’t make any headway. There was little in the way of change in the final laps and Brown held on to bring home his and Pye’s first Sandown 500 win.

Results: Penrite Oil Sandown 500