![\"Allen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Adelaide-Grand-Final-Drivers-011.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrove Racing’s Kai Allen. Image: Kelly Barnes<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrove Racing’s Kai Allen. Image: Kelly Barnes<\/p>\n
In his rookie season, Allen has been a standout for Grove Racing. In just his 21st career start, the 20-year-old took his first Supercars podium.<\/p>\n
Darwin represented something of a turning point for Allen, who has stood on the podium four more times since that breakthrough result.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back at round four or five, I think I was 19th in the championship, so we\u2019ve had a big march to get to fourth at the moment,\u201d said Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, beyond my expectations. We set a goal at the start of the year to get to the top 10. That felt pretty unrealistic after a few rounds of getting bashed around and pushed around.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like we\u2019re not really meant to be there, but then once we got to Darwin we had a really big swing in momentum and we\u2019ve just carried that now.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously there are some up and down races, but at the end of the day, we\u2019ve done what we could with this new format and we\u2019ve maximised it well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got through after Bathurst with three points to 11th, and we just snuck into 10th. Then we set a goal at Gold Coast to try and transfer through into the seventh for [Sandown]. Got to sixth and then got through to fourth.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously stayed out of trouble [at Sandown], paid dividends, and that\u2019s how you have to play in this game. We\u2019ll get a speedy car for Adelaide, so we\u2019ll see what we can do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was the old format, I\u2019d probably only get to eighth in the championship, which is still really good, but it makes it a lot more exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"(From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Adelaide-Grand-Final-Drivers-004.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
(From left) Will Brown with fellow Supercars Finals Series drivers Broc Feeney, Kai Allen, and Chaz Mostert with the Repco Supercars Championship trophy. Image: Kelly Barnes<\/p>\n
Allen\u2019s inclusion as one of the four championship contenders came at his teammate Matt Payne\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n
The Mount Gambier-born and raised driver is thankful to have Payne as something of an assistant in his pursuit of the championship.<\/p>\n
Like Chaz Mostert, Allen cast some concerns over Triple Eight and how it will manage points leader Broc Feeney and his teammate Will Brown.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, Allen said he likes the new Finals Series format.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, you\u2019d be racing with no intent and you\u2019d just be going out there for race wins, not really championships. It adds a whole different pressure now on the game,\u201d said Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of guys that\u2019ll be disappointed with how they went so it\u2019s gonna make the racing exciting at Adelaide.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen with Woody (Ryan Wood) how he helped Chaz. I\u2019ve got my speedy fast teammate Matt Payne who\u2019s going to be backing me up in Adelaide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the two Red Bull guys will be hard to figure out, who is the priority in there. At the same time, we\u2019ve gotta do what\u2019s best for us and just focus on ourselves and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is no doubt Allen is the dark horse entering Adelaide.<\/p>\n
Few picked the #26 Ford Mustang driver to beat his teammate, let alone make the final four with more experienced heads like Cameron Waters and Brodie Kostecki.<\/p>\n
Yet, in his first season, Allen has as good a chance as Feeney, Mostert, and Brown to be champion.<\/p>\n
![\"Kai](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Supercars-Sandown-Saturday-279.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kai Allen in the #19 Grove Racing Ford Mustang at Sandown Raceway. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n
Allen has championship showdown experience. He knows the pain of losing, having thrown away the Super3 Series title to Brad Vaughan after crashing at Turn 8.<\/p>\n
That, he said, was a lesson.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst one is not hit turn eight, because that broke my heart in 2022 \u2013 so that\u2019s a big one,\u201d said Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of pressure around that track. It\u2019s intense, it\u2019s fast, and a lot of stuff can go wrong, so for us now is making sure that we have a fast car and we roll out quick.<\/p>\n
\u201cPenrite Mustangs suit that track, I think it suits my driving style, but at the same time, I\u2019ve learned a lot of how to lose them, how to win them, and there is a lot from applying pressure in the right way, extracting the most out of the races you can.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are three races there, which is really cool. There\u2019s more opportunity for success, but also for stuff to go wrong. So as a team, we need to make sure we\u2019re executing in every aspect, the car\u2019s prepped right, the car\u2019s fast enough, the boys execute their pit stops, and we should walk out with a really, really good result. I\u2019m excited to bring it on and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/289866.jpeg\")