Jamie Whincup looks on as Broc Feeney embraces engineer Martin Short. Image: InSyde Media
The squad snapped its longest podium drought in 20 years with a victory for Broc Feeney in the second of the Saturday encounters at the Perth Super440.
Whincup is trackside at Wanneroo having missed Townsville while on promotional duties at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.
“It’s just allocation of time. That’s all it comes down to,” Whincup told Speedcafe of the turnaround.
“She’s a big business Triple Eight Race Engineering, there’s plenty of plates and I’ve been running around trying to keep them all spinning.
“The performance plate was getting a little bit wonky and about to fall off, so the last three weeks we’ve had to get that one spinning a bit more at the cost of everything else.”
Triple Eight expanded to three cars this season amid a switch to Ford that included taking on homologation team duties and the Supercars engine supply for the Blue Oval.
Ford on Saturday secured the Supercars manufacturers title for the first time in six years.
“We didn’t think we would lose the performance as much as we did, but when you look at it holistically, it makes complete sense,” Whincup said.
“You’ve got to remember, we’ve built a brand new engine shop. We haven’t built engines, ever.
“It was a proud moment to win the manufacturers’ cup, we take a lot of pride in that.
“There’s been a lot of work going on this year. We’re proud of a lot of things and we probably neglected the performance side of things.
“We’re still a long way from being the quickest team in pit lane, but it’s nice to get a little bit of a reward for the dedication of time that we’ve done the last three weeks in particular.”
Broc Feeney flanked by Grove Racing’s Matt Payne and Kai Allen on the podium. Image: InSyde Media
Feeney’s victory in the second Saturday race came after an opportunistic overtake on Grove Racing’s championship leader Matt Payne.
Whincup is not shying away from the challenge thrown down by Grove, which took the lead of the teams’ title in Darwin back in June.
“It’s a good battle. Motorsport is all about the battles and these guys are doing a really, really good job,” said Whincup.
“For the last 15 years, you’re fighting one team, you run over here, you’re fighting another… we seem to be the people in the middle, always trying to keep whoever is the quickest honest.
“Hopefully the sport’s better with us than without us.”
Triple Eight has won five races this season, while fellow Ford squads Grove and Dick Johnson Racing have six apiece.