Feeney leads Ford sweep in Tasmania finale

The Triple Eight driver narrowly held off fellow front-row starter Matt Payne despite a slower getaway to keep command of the race.

A spirited battle between Anton De Pasquale and Will Brown behind allowed the top two to build an early gap on the field.

It was a game of pit stop poker from there as Supercars’ stipulation of three compulsory stops for the 84 laps made for a busy pit lane.

Feeney and Payne both ran long first stints, with the latter the first to blink while 2.5 seconds down on the leader 27 laps in.

Triple Eight covered by pitting Feeney shortly afterwards in a process that also played out in the next two cycles.

Feeney’s biggest scare came when he locked a front wheel at the pit exit following his third stop.

However, he remained in control and rejoined with a healthy margin, eventually taking the flag 7.3s ahead of Payne.

“I’m stoked,” said Feeney whose 30th career win draws him equal with Dick Johnson in 12th on the all-time tally.

“We’ve been working pretty hard this whole season, especially after Sydney, to get back to the top step of the podium.

“Obviously pole position led us to a great starting point, and then it was a really difficult race. With all of the strategies and everything it was really difficult.”

Kai Allen turned seventh on the grid into third having leap-frogged his way into top three during the first round of stops.

De Pasquale and Brown survived their early roughhousing to finish fourth and fifth respectively, while Jayden Ojeda was a season-best sixth.

The PremiAir Racing rookie was shuffled back from his outstanding third grid slot to 10th on lap one before steadying the ship.

Aaron Cameron snapped his run of poor results with a solid seventh ahead of Walkinshaw TWG teammates Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert.

Wood started 11th and was delayed by a slow first stop, directly after which the frustrated Kiwi yielded to 17th-placed starter Mostert.

Mostert appeared to let Wood back through at the start of the final stint, ensuring the Kiwi took top Toyota honours.

Tickford Racing duo Cam Waters and Thomas Randle rounded out the top 10 ahead of a hapless Brodie Kostecki.

The Dick Johnson Racing driver ran fourth early but a coupling issue in his first stop consigned him to heavy fuel-saving.

Kostecki also complained of front tyre locking and gradually fell down the order.

The 84-lap race ran green for its duration, ensuring the Safety Car was not seen throughout the three-race weekend.