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Live sport on SN this weekendBrown returns to summit, rival eyes Sprint Cup
Sebastian Tan, AAP •  August 22nd, 2026 7:53 pm
Will Brown has ended his year-long winless drought, at the venue where his previous victory came | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Will Brown has ended his year-long wait to win a Supercars race, overcoming two safety cars and making the most of his new vehicle to claim a dramatic victory in the second race of the Ipswich Super 440.
The Triple Eight Race Engineering star prevailed by 0.806 seconds after staving off his podcast buddy Brodie Kostecki in the 39-lap, 120km race at Queensland Raceway on Saturday.
It was the 2024 champion's first win of the season and the first time he's tasted victory since winning at Ipswich last year.
Brown's first-placed finish is remarkable, considering he was forced to swap Ford Mustangs after the team found he had a less-powerful engine going into the weekend.
He also dealt with gearbox issues in Friday's practice, but held his nerve on Saturday to finish ahead of Kostecki, with Broc Feeney, Kai Allen and last year's champion Chaz Mostert rounding out the top five.
Triple Eight Racing's Will Brown is eyeing off more wins after tasting success again in Queensland | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
It was pole-sitter Matt Payne and Kostecki that jostled for positions early, but Kostecki's decision to take the crucial sole pit stop on lap 18 looked to pay dividends as he emerged behind Allen, who had stopped earlier in the race.
However on lap 22, the Dick Johnson Racing driver tried to overtake Allen, came too fast into a turn and veered off the track.
Kostecki's teammate Rylan Gray spluttered to a halt on lap 24 and the safety car was brought out.
Once the safety car departed on lap 29, Brown made two daring moves to thrust into second place at the expense of Payne's car as he suffered a gearbox issue.
But after the second safety car was employed on lap 32, it opened the door for Brown to thrust into the lead and he overcame Kostecki's challenge to secure victory.
"Right now it nearly feels bigger than the championship. To be honest, the championship was amazing, but it's been a tough old slog," Brown told Fox Sports.
"When you're down the dumps after the last eight rounds, you think, 'Oh, what are you doing?' But this is why we race to try and win.
"A lot of people were saying we'd still run mid-pack, and here we are, No. 1."
Race two runner-up Matt Payne has maintained his lead on top of the championship standings | Photo: Supercars
Despite Payne finishing sixth in the second race, he remains in prime position to win the Sprint Cup and earn a finals berth as he leads the championship standings by 110 points heading into Sunday's final race of the opening segment of the season.
Earlier, Kostecki bounced back from a poor Perth showing to win the opening race of the weekend by 2.159 seconds as Payne and Brown finished second and third respectively.
RACE 27 RESULTS:
1. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering), 2. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing), 3. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight), 4. Kai Allen (Grove Racing), 5. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw TWG Racing).
