Whincup's unique Sandown hat trick

Now only Peter Brock has more Sandown 500 wins than Jamie Whincup, who claimed his sixth victory in Sunday’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

Whincup combined with Broc Feeney to lead 124 of 158 laps en route to victory in the first endurance race of the Gen3 era.

Heading to Sandown, Whincup was already in esteemed company when it comes to the Sandown 500, having won the race in 2007, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019.

With the race returning in 2023, Whincup has now won the last three Sandown 500 races — and each time, with a different co-driver.

Whincup was partnered by Paul Dumbrell between 2012 and 2018, the pair winning the Bathurst 1000 in 2012 and Sandown in 2013, 2014 and 2018.

Infamously, Whincup and Dumbrell overcame penalties in 2013 and 2014 to win, while leading a Triple Eight one-two-three in 2018.

Come 2019, and Triple Eight reunited Whincup with Lowndes for the enduros, some 12 years after they won the Sandown-Bathurst double.

Whincup and Lowndes duly won the 2019 Sandown 500 after dominating both grid sprints and the 500km feature race. It was Whincup’s fifth win, and Lowndes’ sixth.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic endured the Sandown 500 went missing between 2020 and 2022, before it was restored to the Supercars calendar in 2023.

By 2023, Whincup had retired from the full-time game, and had been replaced by young star Feeney, who already had four wins to his name heading to Sandown.

Whincup rolled back the years and twice passed Erebus Motorsport’s Jack Perkins, driving with Will Brown, for the lead in the first two stints.

The seven-time champion handed the #88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro to Feeney for the run home, with a late Safety Car and pressure from Brodie Kostecki the biggest hurdles for Feeney.

Whincup joined Lowndes and Allan Moffat on six wins, with the late Brock way out in front on nine wins, seven of which were consecutive between 1975 and 1981.

Now a Supercars Hall of Famer, Whincup is one of just three drivers — alongside Lowndes and George Fury — to win consecutive Sandown 500s with different co-drivers.

Lowndes won with Whincup in 2007, before taking out the 2012 race with Warren Luff. Fury, meanwhile, won with Glenn Seton in 1986, before winning with Terry Shiel in 1987.

In a twist of fate, Feeney — aged at 20 years and 334 days — overtook Seton to become the youngest ever winner of the Sandown 500. Seton was just 21 years and 132 days old when he won in 1986.