Why Payne didn't celebrate win with burnout

Sunday was a big day for Townsville winner Matt Payne, but the only thing missing was a winner’s burnout — and the Penrite Racing driver has revealed why.

Payne powered from 10th on the grid to a stunning win in Race 14 on Sunday, beating Ford rivals Cam Waters and Chaz Mostert.

It was the second win for the New Zealander after his Adelaide breakthrough last year, but on that day at least, he burned down some rubber.

It didn’t happen after Sunday’s race, and after being prodded by Waters and Mostert in the post-race press conference, Payne cited the short turnaround to Sydney as the reason why.

“I've got to use that gear for Sydney so got to keep it in check,” the Kiwi said.

“I would have liked to have a crack. I was pretty disappointed after Adelaide, how I performed. But I've got to keep the gear fresh.”

The Penrite Fords will remain in the Townsville garages until Thursday before being transported to Sydney ahead of the July 19-21 round at Eastern Creek.

Fellow Melbourne squad Team 18 will also remain in Townsville, where Payne broke through after tough rounds in Perth and Darwin.

"It's huge, we definitely held our heads high after Adelaide last year, and that gave us a lot of confidence going into this year, but we have probably been lacking and a little more frustrated than we would like,” Payne said.

On whether he felt a win coming during Sunday’s race, he added: "I knew we had a shot and I knew we had a fast car. but it was all in the first stint when me and Chaz were just blowing through them.

"We had really good speed and it just never really stopped, we went on with it, after then our pace in the second stint was really strong so that's how we built our gap.

"I probably didn't think I was going to win after my shootout lap, which was pretty awful, but we'll have to tune that up."

Payne moved from ninth to fifth in the championship over the course of the weekend.