How the Super2 title can be won in Adelaide

Zak Best leads the Dunlop Super2 Series heading to this weekend’s title-deciding VAILO Adelaide 500, but the Anderson Motorsport driver has little room for error.

The fight for the Super2 title is mathematically a five-way battle, but it is realistically a race between Best and Eggleston Motorsport rookie Kai Allen.

Best has led all the way since Race 2 in Newcastle, with Allen emerging as his closest rival after wins in Townsville and Bathurst.

Ryan Wood, Cooper Murray and Zach Bates are also in with a chance, albeit slim, and will need a miracle to secure a comeback title victory.

Best has a slim points advantage, and both drivers have two wins each. In the event of a points tie between the two drivers, it may come down to the number of wins if only one of the drivers grabs a victories in Adelaide. 

Best is still in the box seat owing to the second tie-break, being the count of second-place finishes for each driver. Best has three second-place finishes to Allen’s one.

With one round and 300 points remaining, Supercars.com highlights the key scenarios which will determine the destination of the Super2 crown come Sunday afternoon.

What Best needs to do

Best can win the title with a pair of second-place finishes. With second position being awarded 138 points per race, Best would move to 1503 championship points. Should Allen win both Adelaide races, the 150 points for each would only take the Eggleston driver to 1497 points.

If Best wins one of the two races, he needs only to finish fifth in the other, taking the Anderson driver to 1488 points. Allen could win one race and finish second in the other, but would only have 1485 points.

If drama arrives

Adelaide is known to throw drama into the mix, with the unforgiving concrete walls waiting if drivers make a mistake.If Allen suffers a DNF on Saturday, Best can seal the title with a race to spare by finishing third. Best would score 129 points, moving from 30 to 159 points ahead of Allen with 150 remaining.

If Allen fails to finish on Saturday and Best finishes fourth, the Anderson driver is only 150 points ahead. Allen could still win the championship on a countback if he was to win the Sunday race and Best fails to finish.

If Best fails to finish on Saturday and Allen wins, the Eggleston driver would lead by 120 points into Sunday. Best must win on Sunday and hope Allen fails to finish, given there are 19 drivers on the Super2 grid, with 19th offering 48 points.

The drivers hoping for a miracle

Ryan Wood, Cooper Murray and Zach Bates will most likely be out of mathematical contention by the end of Saturday, but will hold onto hope they can pull off a Super2 miracle.

Walkinshaw Andretti United teammates Wood and Bates are 231 and 291 points down respectively, with Allen’s teammate Murray 255 points behind. They need to be within 150 points heading into Sunday to be a shot.

Super3 title fight

The Super3 title is still alive, but it is Image Racing driver Jobe Stewart’s to lose. Stewart is 192 points ahead of Jett Johnson and has one hand on the Super3 trophy.

With five drivers in the Super3 field this weekend, Stewart can clinch title by merely finishing on Saturday. However, a Stewart DNF and Johnson win would see Stewart left with a 42-point lead heading into Sunday. If Johnson wins again, Stewart must finish at least fifth to guarantee the title.

The wildcard in the pack is Cameron McLeod, who is 279 points down. McLeod’s season was undone by a double DNF at Sandown, but has been the pace-setter in 2023. McLeod must, however, hope for drama to hit both Stewart and Johnson to be in the fight.