With just 31 laps to go in Sunday’s race, Payne lunged Waters for third place at Turn 1. The Grove Racing driver sailed past the apex and ran wide onto the corner exit apron, allowing his Tickford Racing rival to slip back up the inside.
They rubbed panels side-by-side on the approach to Turn 2, and Payne briefly held the ascendancy. Waters wasn’t done, though, and he dived to Payne’s inside at Turn 4.
Waters’ right rear wheel interlocked with Payne’s left front on the corner exit. The #6 popped the right rear, while the #19 suffered steering damage.
Waters had to pit for a new set of tyres while Payne’s steering damage saw him plummet down the order and eventually be relegated to his pit garage.
Payne was left scratching his head, but said he wasn’t surprised by Waters’ aggression level having entered the second race 57 points below the elimination line.
“It’s obviously disappointing to end the championship hunt that way,” Payne said on the Fox Sports broadcast.
“Just got in contact with Cam, which ultimately ended our race.
“Pretty frustrating. Trying to race him clean and just felt like I got bombarded a little bit at Turn 4, which I didn’t think was really needed.
“I just feel like it was a bit rude and I feel like it’s pretty common with racing someone like that,” he added.
“That’s just the way he wants to race, I think a lot of people know that in the paddock. I’m certainly going to learn from it, for sure.
“I think if you’re outside the bubble, you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do, but unfortunately that was probably a little bit dirty.
“What he was thinking at the time was right, but ultimately ended our race and ended our championship, so that’s what it is.”
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On the contact with Payne, Waters suggested an incident at the beginning of the race gave him reason to retaliate.
“He hit me at the start and really upset me. It was game on from there,” Waters explained.
“He lunged me into (turn) one. We were both off and throwing everything at it.
“It was bad to have both cars broken, but for me, I had to have full attack, I had try be in front of him.”
Waters came into Sunday’s Sandown 500 race sixth in the standings and needing a lot to go right to leapfrog Kai Allen and his Grove Racing teammate Payne.
Had Payne let Waters through, that still would have been enough for the #26 driver to advance – assuming the result stayed that way. A Waters win would have put Payne out of the Finals.
“I’m not really sure why he raced me so hard when he didn’t have to,” Waters said of Payne.
“It is what it is. Hopefully the fans loved the race.”
Waters was bemused by how hard he was raced not only by Payne, but some of his other rivals in the 81-lapper.
“Threw absolutely everything at that, and obviously I had to take as much risk as I could,” said Waters.
“I had to try win the race or finish a long way in front of the others.
“I had some ding-dong battles out there. I don’t know why everyone was racing me so hard. It is what it is. We threw everything at it.
“As a team, we just weren’t quick enough. We definitely had a red-hot crack, that’s all I can ask.
“Wasn’t our weekend. Gutted to miss out on the Finals, but we’ll rock up at Adelaide and see what happens there.”
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