Will Brown being interviewed by Riana Crehan. Image: Supplied
Supercars has cut the calendar in three this year with Sprint Cup and Endurance Cup winners to be crowned before a three-round Finals Series decides the overall champion.
This weekend’s Ipswich Super440 marks the final round of the Sprint Cup, which Feeney enters with a 220-point lead over Triple Eight stablemate Brown.
With just 315 points available across the three races, Brown says his chances are a mathematical equation only.
“I think Broc has got that one wrapped up,” Brown told Speedcafe of the Sprint Cup, which comes with a Brabham-themed trophy and 25 bonus points for the start of the Finals Series.
“He’s done a fantastic job all year and for me it’s just about having a great weekend this weekend and trying to win some races to build momentum going into the Endurance Cup.”
Feeney has charged to what appears certain Sprint Cup success with a blistering run that includes wins in seven of the last eight races.
Brown has not won since Albert Park in March and has endured patchy form in recent events, particularly in qualifying.
Missing the top 10 in all three qualifying sessions at Hidden Valley in June triggered significant surgery to his car ahead of last months’ event in Townsville.
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“We did a few changes to my chassis, front clip, roll bars, a fair bit of stuff to the car and I was super happy with it at Townsville,” said Brown.
“I felt like I was struggling with it a lot at Perth and Darwin, and I felt like I was doing quite a good job in the car.
“At Townsville I actually let the car down in qualifying, I made a few mistakes. I could have qualified right up there with Broc and I didn’t and that was on me, but in the races I showed I could get back up there.
“I think I just need to do a better job in qualifying this weekend. We’re capable of winning races, I think we’re back to our old self with having great tyre life and able to pass cars.”
Triple Eight is running three cars this weekend with the addition of the Supercheap Auto wildcard for rookie Zach Bates.
While teams are no longer allowed to undertake private test days with their full-time entries, Triple Eight appeared to make the most of a wildcard test for Bates last week.
Feeney and Brown were both in attendance – the former cutting a maximum permitted 10 laps in the Camaro, while the latter performed similar duties aboard the team’s Super2 Holdens.
The fact Triple Eight deployed its Red Bull Ampol Racing brains trust to run the day for Bates raised eyebrows among rivals but was within the rules.
PHOTOS: Thursday at the Ipswich Super440
Brown downplayed suggestions the test – at which customer team PremiAir Racing also ran an evaluation day for three rookie drivers – will benefit the team this weekend.
“Broc got to do 10 laps in the wildcard car to try and help Zach. Broc can say if he thinks the car needs a change or whatnot, but I’m not sure exactly if it’ll benefit us,” Brown said.
“It’s really weird. It’s our test track for Triple Eight and hopefully that’s an advantage, but you never know.
“When I was [based] in Melbourne with Erebus, we had our test track [at Winton] and the teams from Queensland would rock up and beat you.
“It’s just one of those things. I’m not getting complacent, we’re putting our best foot forward. We’ve got a lot of changes we can make if we’re not in the window.
“I think our cars are really good around here and I think we should roll out and be super competitive and fast. But it’s so competitive right now, you don’t really know.”
Supercars replaced private testing this year with a pre-season test at Sydney Motorsport Park in February and a pre-endurance test at Queensland Raceway, set to take place on Tuesday.