Feeney survives scare for Saturday victory double

A strategic mistake from the Triple Eight team, however, meant it was far from a straight-forward run for the #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro.

Feeney won the start and led Thomas Randle, James Golding, Macauley Jones, Nick Percat and Cam Waters ahead of the first pit stops.

Randle was the first of the front-runners to pit on lap 20 of 50, taking two fresh tyres.

Triple Eight pulled Feeney in two laps later and fitted four fresh tyres on the Red Bull Ampol Camaro without losing track position to the Tickford Mustang.

What the team didn’t factor in was Jones taking two tyres a lap later and rejoining ahead of the pair of them, and then Percat subsequently pulling the same trick to trump all three.

That had Percat ahead of Jones, Feeney, Randle and Golding, albeit with Jones quickly falling back two places amid the hectic action.

Waters was the last of the front-runners to pit and threated to spring another surprise, rejoining from his stop side-by-side with Feeney before settling in behind the Red Bull entry.

Randle then pounced on teammate Waters in a move that also allowed Jones and Golding to follow through on the Monster Mustang.

Feeney meanwhile set about the task of regaining the lead from Percat, eventually doing so on lap 29 with a forceful inside move at Turn 7.

He was not headed from there and eventually took the flag 2.6s clear of Percat, taking the win in his 100th career Supercars start.

“We made it very hard for ourselves, doing four when everyone else did two,” Feeney admitted post-race.

“I didn’t expect so many people to come out in front of me. Great race with Nick, congrats to him, and Macauley, there was a lot of guys in there.

“I didn’t think I’d be getting emotional at the back end of that race, but with a few laps to go I was like, ‘man, this is going to be special’.

“To do 100 races, and to win today, both of them, is pretty special.”

Waters recovered to third ahead of Randle, Jones and Golding, while Matt Payne, Jaxon Evans, David Reynolds and Jack Le Brocq completed the top 10.

Erstwhile points leader Will Brown, who started 13th, managed just 11th after a difficult race that included a mid-race shove from Chaz Mostert that cost two places.

Mostert was handed a five-second penalty for his trouble and finished 19th after a robust late-race battle with Erebus rookie Cooper Murray.

Ryan Wood recovered to 16th after contact with Aaron Cameron spun the second of the Walkinshaw Andretti United Mustangs at Turn 1 on the first lap.

The Supercars Championship field will return to the track on Sunday for qualifying, a Top 10 Shootout and a 200km race.

Results: Tasmania Super440 Race 2, Symmons Plains