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Triple Eight finals hopes fade as Kostecki triumphs
Sebastian Tan, AAP • November 7th, 2026 8:01 pm
Championship-hunting Brodie Kostecki has triumphed in the opening Sandown 500 race | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Brodie Kostecki has made the most of two safety cars and a willing challenge from his podcast partner to punch his ticket to the Supercars grand final by winning a chaotic opening race of the Sandown 500.
The Dick Johnson Racing speedster claimed his ninth victory of the season by 5.3626 seconds in the 79-lap 250km race at the Sandown International Motor Raceway on Saturday.
It was Kostecki's first win since the Bathurst 1000 last month, but more importantly it keeps his hopes of winning the championship for the first time since 2023 firmly intact as he qualifies for the decider in Adelaide.
Brodie Kostecki has scored his first win since celebrating at Mount Panorama | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Victory was not smooth sailing, though, as the 29-year-old witnessed Grove Racing's Matt Payne race out of the gates and hold a five-second advantage.
But the safety car was employed on lap 13 when Aaron Cameron's car burst into flames.
All the finalists went to the pits, and pole-sitter Payne's advantage vanished when Will Brown and Kostecki quickly emerged, and the Kiwi had to nestle himself into third place.
Podcast partners Kostecki and Brown stirringly jostled for the ascendancy, and their tension boiled over in lap 36 when Brown tried to overtake on the inside lane at turn four, hit the Dick Johnson Racing star and crashed into the barriers.
In another twist, the safety car re-emerged on lap 39 when Jackson Walls found himself in the grass and all the drivers pitted again.
Tickford Racing's Cam Waters nailed his stop and wrestled himself into first place before Kostecki edged in front of him on lap 43.
From there, the Dick Johnson Racing driver soared to victory, while Payne snared second and the fifth-ranked Cam Waters finished third.
The Sandown 500 is the penultimate round of the Supercars finals series, with seven drivers in with a chance of winning the title, but only four will remain in the running after Sunday's chequered flag falls.
The bottom three drivers in the top seven rankings who fail to win one of the two races will be eliminated from securing the title.
Brodie Kostecki took out race one at Sandown by over five seconds | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Brown came into the weekend ranked fifth, but after slipping down the grid when he slammed into the barriers, the Triple Eight Race Engineering speedster copped a 15-second time penalty for hitting Cameron Hill midway through the race.
It meant the 2024 champion finished 20th and is well adrift of fourth-ranked Broc Feeney, meaning he essentially must win Sunday's race to qualify for the grand final.
Feeney will also rue his afternoon drive, entering the race ranked second but finishing 11th after faltering late.
Chaz Mostert, meantime, surged home to claim fourth, while the sixth-ranked Anton De Pasquale grabbed sixth.
