Hazelwood managed an impressive 13th in the two-part qualifying session aboard Kostecki’s #17 Ford, missing the Top 10 Shootout by just 0.0224s.
Kostecki this morning withdrew from the day’s action after an illness left him requiring medical attention in the aftermath of a third place finish on Saturday.
Hazelwood, who is Kostecki’s Enduro Cup co-driver, was already at the circuit competing in the Trans Am Cup Series and jumped into action at short notice.
Despite not having driven a Gen3 Mustang in anger since testing at Sydney Motorsport Park in February, Hazelwood out-qualified rookie teammate Rylan Gray.
“I was just remembering how to drive a Supercar again,” Hazelwood told Fox Sports of his qualifying run.
“I’ve been racing the Trans Am here this weekend which has been good for laps, but a completely different race car.
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“A different tyre, left-hand-drive, four-speed gearbox… just detuning myself and remembering how to finesse the car and be accurate with my technique.
“I got to watch one of Brodie’s hot laps from yesterday on the laptop just before I jumped in the car, ‘alright, yep, just do that’.
“Obviously the car was phenomenal, so big thanks to the whole team at Shell V-Power Racing.
“I just hope that Brodie’s alright, that’s the main thing.
“But cool to get the call-up and we’ll just make the most of it today and put a show on for our fans and our sponsors.”
Hazelwood was disappointed to miss out on the Shootout by such a narrow margin.
“As a driver you want to be better so as a driver you go, ‘damn’,” he said.
“I knew I lost a little bit of time in that last sector, experimenting with the car a little bit, trying to work out what it wants, particularly in the mid-corner it’s quite sensitive.
“I’m probably a little bit inaccurate with my brake pedal at the moment, but I’ve got a long race ahead of me now, so I’m sure I’ll work it out by then.”
Hazelwood filled in for Kostecki at the Track to Town event on Thursday and told Supercars.com he’d been aware of the star’s condition ahead of the weekend.
“I knew Brodie was unwell probably a week ago when we caught up at a sponsor event,” Hazelwood said.
“Obviously been talking with him and monitoring his situation. I’m always here to help Brodie wherever I can.
“I helped out a lot on early in the week with Track to Town and tried to give him some time.
“The team’s been communicating with me that there is potentially a possibility of having to jump in, particularly this morning.
“The team made me aware when I was doing run-up with my Trans Am car this morning, and they said be ready depending on what Brodie feels like.”
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