Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen has gained a spot on the Supercars championship standings, but has lost ground to current leader Brodie Kostecki at Adelaide.
Ironically, the two-time defending champion took advantage of misfortune to the man who will replace him at Red Bull Ampol Racing next year, when he takes his talents fulltime to the US NASCAR programme.
Second-placed Will Brown has been named as his successor, but was forced out of the opening race in the opening lap at Tailem Bend, when he was part of a three-car collision, and scored no championship points.
Van Gisbergen finished fifth over the 20-lap, 100km sprint race, leapfrogging his rival into second, but falling further behind Kostecki, who won from pole.
After qualifying fifth, the Kiwi complained about his car throughout the journey, describing it as "undrivable" over team radio. Asked if he had anything left in the car before pitting, he told his team he hadn't had anything all day.
Kostecki was the last of the race contenders to pit and was able to build a big enough lead to rejoin the race still ahead.
Van Gisbergen slotted back into the field ninth after his pitstop, but passed teammate Broc Feeney, as he picked up a couple of spots over the closing laps.
Kostecki's series lead has swelled to 80 points over van Gisbergen, with Brown slipping to fourth, behind Feeney.
Ultimate success at Adelaide depends heavily on tyre strategy. Van Gisbergen won all three races under this format last year.
Both van Gisbergen and Kostecki made quick turnarounds, after contesting the latest NASCAR round at Indianapolis earlier in the week.
The Kiwi won his American debut at Chicago last month and finished 10th in his second start, while Kostecki hit the wall in qualifying and was never a factor in his maiden appearance.
The Supercars field will return to the track for two more races on Sunday.
