KAI Allen can now say he has genuinely led a Supercars Championship race – even if he wasn’t destined to win it.
It began when the lights went out at the start of the race, when the Grove Racing sophomore jumped polesitter Broc Feeney and banged wheels with him down the straight, through Turn 1 and Turn 2.
It continued on a mid-race Safety Car restart in heavy rain when, on slick tyres, he passed Feeney around the outside of Turn 1 to take over the lead.
REPORT & RESULTS: Allen heartbreak as Feeney wins Sydney 500 thriller
The #26 Penrite Mustang led the field for three-quarters of a lap – and then it all went wrong.
“I thought I really had him and then I made a mistake into Turn 8 which I will never forget until the day I die,” Allen told Kayo Sports.
“I could’ve had him, but at the same time Broc ran a faultless race.”
Allen would know; he was glued to the back of the #88 Mustang for the rest of the race … until a steering failure with six laps to go sent him to the garage.
“The boys are saying it could’ve been (from) a bit of contact, but at the end of the day I don’t think I had too big a contact with Broc,” Allen said.
“I think it was just a stressed part; a fluke, an accident. That’s racing unfortunately.
“When I was walking back from the podium, I found this little thing laying on the ground. I can probably put it in a box as a memory of what could’ve been.”
Pic: Team owner Stephen Grove chats with Allen under the podium.
Allen also boxed up yet another moment that establishes his credentials as a genuine contender among Supercars’ youth movement.
Last year’s multiple podiums were capped by an unexpected run to the Grand Final, netting a top-four championship finish in his rookie season.
Now, with his move on Feeney, Allen has demonstrated he’s ready to fight against the best for race wins.
“It was really cool,” Allen said.
“I had a great restart and put a lot of pressure on Broc. I had a good run on him and I knew he was going to block to the inside.
“Because it was drizzling, I knew the race line at Turn 1 was going to be very slippery because of last year when it rained so I just tightened the seatbelts.
“I was pretty comfortable. I knew I had it when I had the run on him and bombed it into Turn 1 and judged the gap, got on the grippy stuff right around the outside of him.
“It’s a credit to him; he could’ve been an absolute dog and just pushed me straight off the track, but Broc being Broc, we had good hard racing and put on a good spectacle for the fans.”