IT’S the inevitable question that has come Broc Feeney’s way over and over again: how do you feel about Supercars’ new finals series when you’d almost certainly be champion under the old format?
To be exact, using a ‘most points wins’ system, Feeney would have been 286 up with no more than 300 on offer across this weekend’s Adelaide finale, making him effectively a $1.01 bet to seal the deal.
But finals is all about firstly getting there and secondly performing when it counts. It’s why Walkinshaw Andretti United and Chaz Mostert opted to take a deliberate experimental approach right from the Sydney season-opener, backing that they’d bank enough points while testing on the fly for Gold Coast, Sandown and Adelaide.
Now, Feeney, Mostert, Will Brown and Kai Allen all remain in championship contention, covered by 50 points from first seed to fourth.
Feeney and Triple Eight, to their credit, have embraced the change even though it’s pretty well to their detriment.
But there is one matter Feeney has flagged for change in future seasons.
“I can’t deny the fact it’s exciting,” he said.
The Undercut – Grand Final Time!
Unpacking the Sandown 500 and looking forward to an epic Adelaide Grand Final!
“I don’t want to sound biased because of the position I’m in, but I think the regular season champion should maybe get a little bit more of a leg-up.
“It probably would have been pretty disappointing if I had some sort of failure to not even make it through the first round of finals.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but you could win every single race of the year and have a bad race at Gold Coast and not make it through, which I think would be a little bit disappointing.
“But there’s plenty to think about. The entertainment factor is awesome.”
Victory in the Friday Adelaide sprint will pay 50 points (and $50,000).
Then it’s onto a pair of 250km races across the weekend, with 125 points on offer in each.