The heart-stopping moment occurred when Feeney rejoined ahead of Brown from what was scheduled to be his final pitstop 32 laps from the finish.

Feeney locked a front tyre and ran wide onto the tarmac run-off; the left-front of his Camaro then rubbing the right-rear of Brown’s as he rejoined.

Both cars continued without any apparent damage, eventually finishing in that order after two late Safety Cars and an unplanned final round of stops.

“I saw Broc came out of the pits and obviously went in fairly hard on cold tyres and ran a little bit wide,” said Brown, who shared the race-winning #87 Camaro with co-driver Scott Pye.

“I also did the same and had to run out, but you don’t know how fast you’re getting past that person.

“I thought I was going past a fair way, trying to get back to the left, Broc was coming back and we tagged.

“Obviously we both didn’t meant to do it because it was a decent enough hit, I thought I might have a bit of damage or a flat right-rear.

“I definitely didn’t want that to happen. It was just really an accident unfortunately the way the circumstances came on the exit there.

“Maybe we can look back and think how can we do things a bit better.

“We’re both young and racing for… Broc’s won a Sandown 500 but I haven’t, and we’re both pushing for the championship, so I’m not sure in that moment if we need to be a little bit more cautious.”

Feeney said that the presence of Jaxon Evans’ lapped Brad Jones Racing entry – which Brown passed on the run to Turn 1 – complicated matters.

“I think it made it a bit more awkward with the lapped car between us,” said Feeney, who shared the #88 with Jamie Whincup.

“I’ve sort of come out on a cold tyre and I can see Will going the inside and we’ve got a lapper in the middle.

“I locked a front on a cold tyre, young bloke, cold tyres, went in a bit hot, and as I’ve come back on the track Will was there.

“It was way too close but it’s as hard one. I shouldn’t have locked a front, shouldn’t have gone in as deep but maybe Will would have got me then.

“It’s a tough one. For sure it’s not ideal, we don’t want to be touching each other. 

“I think we’ve raced super clean all year, we haven’t run into each other at all, so hopefully we put that one behind us and don’t run into each other again. 

“Trust me, we’re doing all we can to not rub each other but unfortunately it happened.”

Brown extended his championship lead as the result of the victory, now 189 clear of second-placed Chaz Mostert and 222 ahead of Feeney with three rounds remaining.