1799 days later: Reynolds had no doubt he would win again

"Never any doubt" of winning again, says David Reynolds
Reynolds snapped five-year drought in thrilling Gold Coast finale
Penrite Racing star hails team, Ford aero changes after breakthrough

“Never any doubt, no. Never.”

That was David Reynolds’ answer after being asked if he had any doubt he would win a Supercars race again amid a five-year winless streak.

For the first time in 146 races, dating back to the 2018 season finale in Newcastle, Reynolds crossed the line first in a thrilling Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 finale.

Reynolds outlasted championship leader Brodie Kostecki to win in what was the closest competitive finish to a Gold Coast Supercars race, with the margin just 0.1889s.

Reynolds up to old tricks with crazy podium antics

The larrikin racer celebrated his drought-breaking victory in style, bringing a fire extinguisher onto the podium, doing a shoey, and throwing pot plants off the podium, just as he did after his very first win in 2013.

In between the 2018 victory and Sunday, Reynolds had claimed 17 podiums without a win, including third place behind Cam Waters and Shane van Gisbergen on Saturday.

Reynolds, who is off to Team 18 in 2024, paid tribute to Penrite Racing, with the team getting both cars towards the pointy end all weekend. Rookie Matt Payne was ninth and fourth in the two Gold Coast races, and qualified on the front row on Saturday.

"To be honest, we’ve been working really hard all year," the 2017 Bathurst winner said.

"Every session, every race, every practice session, [and] every test day, we work really hard.

“These are the hardest-working bunch of people I’ve ever worked with and we sort of found a nice set-up window to play in, and that’s been really good the last couple of rounds.

Last lap: Reynolds denies charging Kostecki to win Race 26

“But obviously, there’s been a parity adjustment to the Ford, which actually gave us the opportunity this weekend to perform on an equal playing field – a similar/equal playing field.

“So, probably without that, I wouldn’t be sitting here, and thanks to the category for doing that.”

Reynolds was also a winner off track, with a special pink helmet being auctioned off for $15,500 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, courtesy of JAX Tyres & Auto.

The win was also the first for the team in its solely Grove-owned era, which began in 2022. Reynolds claimed seven podiums last year, but failed to score a win.

That happened on Sunday, with the Braeside team’s last win coming courtesy of Andre Heimgartner at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2021.

With both Penrite Fords fighting up the front, Reynolds hailed the Grove squad's best weekend since he joined in 2021.

The results helped Reynolds move to 12th in the drivers’ championship with Payne 14th. Penrite Racing is seventh in the teams’ standings ahead of the VAILO Adelaide 500 on November 23-26.

“I think it’s been a fantastic weekend for our boys,” Reynolds added.