The brutal reality of Supercars’ new Finals Series was laid bare at the Adelaide Grand Final when the season’s dominant driver lost at the last hurdle.
Broc Feeney joined an unenviable group of Australian sports teams that did not convert their regular-season performances into the ultimate prize. And that, according to Mark Skaife and Garth Tander, is just how the cookie crumbles.
This year marked the first for Supercars and its Finals Series. Some fans have gotten used to the idea of a four-driver showdown, while others have bemoaned comparisons to football.
“In context, Adelaide won the minor premiership, and they bombed out in straight sets in the finals,” said Mark Skaife on Fox Sports’ broadcast.
“In the NRL, Canberra won the minor premiership, and they bombed out in straight sets.
“That has happened in Australian sport all year in the biggest codes. We’ve just seen it play out in Supercar racing this afternoon.”
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Come Adelaide, Chaz Mostert emerged victorious after he finished second in all three races.
Mostert only missed the podium in one of the seven Finals Series races. That included a run of three straight wins across Sandown and the Gold Coast.
Skaife and Tander said Mostert and Walkinshaw Andretti United had Finals Series form – a term often used in football codes.
“When you put it in the big perspective… you’ve got to say that in the Finals they really stepped up, and they did a really, really good job.
“Chaz was very good. Ryan Wood was the ultimate in being able to help deliver them a championship.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to say it was thoroughly deserved based on their Finals performance.”
Tander added: “The Finals concept was announced over 20 months ago, so the teams and the drivers have had a huge amount of time to get their head around it.
“Walkinshaw Andretti United got their head around it the best, they created a Finals run.
“So if you want to use an AFL analogy, the minor premier was Broc Feeney, but one of the Finals contenders had Finals form – and that was Chaz Mostert.
“They built that Finals form in the lead up to the Finals.
“They had a bad Bathurst, that really solidified the race team, and they came out firing at the first round of Finals.”
Pye, however, bemoaned that comparison. He believes Feeney should have had a greater advantage over his rivals come the Grand Final.
“AFL, for instance, if you win the minor premiership, you get two goes at making the Grand Final. Broc had one mechanical for Sunday. So where’s his second chance? It’s not the same,” an impassioned Pye said on his Apex Hunters United podcast.
“You also don’t have – we just talked about (Ryan) Woody, he finished 10th in the championship – I have never seen a team member from the team that came 10th in the standings walk out onto the pitch during the grand final and trip someone over while they’re taking a goal from 20 metres out. We’re not the same, stop comparing it to ball sports. It’s not even comparable.
“Unless we want to bench the 20 drivers that are actually still out there on track and just let the four go race, don’t compare it. So when TV compare it and do justify it, I think it’s bad because a lot of the comments I see online are steered by that narrative.
“All you’re getting is an echo chamber out of broadcast because those guys all walk up to Broc Feeney and tell him he’s robbed. So why are they going on TV and saying this is great? Tell us how you really feel.
“I’m not saying the format needs to be thrown out, I’m saying it’s year one. I actually love the Finals and for the podcast it’s been great, but I think it’s got to be weighted more in favour of someone, forgetting names, anyone next year that has success.”
Tander said the Finals Series would likely divide opinion among fans, but that should not discount Mostert’s achievement.
“We’ve known about the Finals concept for quite some time, over 20 months,” he explained.
“The teams have known about it, the drivers have known about it, I have no doubt the fans will have their opinions on it, and that’s fine and that’s great because we love the passion about the followers of our sport, but this year, in 2025, the winner of the Finals wins the championship, and Chaz Mostert deserves to win the championship.”
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