Feeney could win the Sprint Cup with a round to spare if he masters the streets of Townsville in similar fashion to his Darwin domination.

Winning the Sprint Cup books that driver into the first round of the Final Series after the Bathurst 1000.

The rest of the field will have to fight over the remaining places in the top 10. The Enduro Cup winner will also book themselves a Finals Series berth, assuming they aren’t also the Sprint Cup winner.

On current form, Feeney is a shoo-in for the finals, which begisn with the top 10 drivers going head-to-head at Surfers Paradise before being cut down to seven drivers for Sandown, and then the final four at Adelaide.

In any case, Feeney will have to survive the Finals Series to book his place in the final four come November 27-30 on the streets of Adelaide.

If he makes it, he’ll find himself in a similar situation to Scott McLaughlin in 2017. That year, he went head-to-head with Jamie Whincup and came up agonisingly short in a dramatic conclusion in which McLaughlin collided with Craig Lowndes.

The circumstances are different, but McLaughlin said the same theories apply.

“I don’t know how he approaches a lot of things, and there are going to be emotions and nerves that pop up that you’ve really never had in your lifetime, because it’s basically the biggest moment of your life,” McLaughlin told Speedcafe.

“He probably needs to be ready for that and be ready to combat those.

“The other thing is probably dealing with the media and dealing with the constant scrutiny on your position.

“Like, if he has a bad qualifying, not getting too down in the dumps about it and just sort of having that same attitude he had towards the end last year or how it’s been all year.”

McLaughlin was 24 when he went for his first Supercars title and Feeney will be just 23 if he makes it to the decider.

The three-time Supercars champion said external noise and pressure was his ultimate undoing in 2017.

“Just blocking out as much of the background as you can is probably the biggest thing, especially at that point – a young age,” said McLaughlin.

“It’s the same with the extracurricular stuff. If you can limit as much as you can of that, it’s always a good thing.

“I think I probably said yes way too much to many things. That was probably part of the reason why I imploded a little bit towards the end of that 2017 season.

“I just felt a little bit burnt out trying to be something, trying to be there for everyone. He needs to manage that pretty well and pinpoint where he’s got to be.

“Obviously he’s got to get there first and it’s a whole lot different to how I went for my first championship, which was just purely on points.

“But he’ll be right. Just needs pace.”

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McLaughlin said he still keeps an eye on the racing, even if it means only watching the highlights the morning after.

Now driving for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series, McLaughlin said it’s been enjoyable to watch the next crop of talent come through after himself, Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup.

“I think Ryan Wood has done a really good job,” said McLaughlin.

“He’s probably been the guy that I’ve noticed that’s done really well. Chaz [Mostert] is a veteran of the sport now, you could say. Most of the last few rounds, he’s definitely has had his measure.

“Matt Payne has been super strong when he needs to be from the looks of it and obviously Kai [Allen] is going through that rookie season now.

“Broc’s been super impressive, the way he has figured out what he needs from the car. it’s good to see a few different guys up there and running up the front.

“It’s definitely been interesting to see that sort of unfold from the side, for sure.”

As for his top four, McLaughlin has picked Feeney, his Triple Eight teammate Will Brown, Grove Racing’s Matt Payne, and Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters.

“Honestly man, I’m going to throw in Waters,” said McLaughlin. “Because I think he’s going to have some decent rounds in that back half of the season. He might be able to find some form.”

So what about Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki? They sit fifth and sixth in the standings respectively, heading to Townsville, but McLaughlin doesn’t see them making the four.

“I don’t know about those two,” he said.

“I would love Brodie for the team to be up there as well, don’t get me wrong, but I think it all depends who gets hot around that back half of the season.

“Obviously, the Triple Eight boys are quick at Gold Coast all the time and Bathurst. There are some good tracks for them.

“Matty has just been pretty consistent all the way through. Waters has got some decent results. He’s always good at Gold Coast. He’s always good at Bathurst.”