Penalty Ends De Pasquale’s Finals Bid as Reynolds storms to 12th

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Cub Cadet Racing’s Anton De Pasquale was cruelly taken out of contention for the Supercars Championship Finals after receiving a late penalty in Race 29 of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, while TRADIE Energy Racing’s David Reynolds delivered a strong recovery drive from the back of the grid to finish 12th.

De Pasquale’s day began with heartbreak in qualifying, narrowly missing out on the Top Ten Shootout after a kerb hop on his final flying lap in Phase Two. Reynolds’ session was cut short moments before he could set a lap, sidelined by a brake issue that left the TRADIE Energy Chevrolet in the garage for the entire session.

Despite starting last, Reynolds charged through the field with consistent pace, climbing 12 positions from 24th to 12th to close out a challenging weekend on a positive note for the TRADIE Energy Racing crew.

De Pasquale entered the day sitting seventh in the standings, holding the final transfer position for the Semi Final at Sandown. Starting 17th, he made strong early progress through the pack and found himself locked in an intense midfield battle.

With eight laps remaining and just two positions shy of progressing in the Finals, De Pasquale closed in on James Courtney for ninth. As Courtney defended into Turn 11, the pair made contact, sending Courtney into the tyre wall. Stewards issued De Pasquale a cruel 15-second time penalty, dropping him to 16th at the flag and ending his Finals campaign.

In the Teams Championship, Team 18 maintained fifth position, extending their advantage over Brad Jones Racing in sixth.

The team will return for their home round at the Sandown 500 on November 14–16.

RESULTS & QUOTES

Anton De Pasquale, driver #18 Cub Cadet Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Qualifying: P17
Race 29: P16

“Wrapping up the Gold Coast 500, rough day for us. Missed out on the Shootout with a kerb hop on a good lap. The race itself was strong, we moved forward and had a fast car, really quick in clean air. Then we got a decision from above with a 15-second penalty, which took us out of the Finals.

“Pretty gutted, but we did a good job otherwise. The car was really fast, things just didn’t fall our way this weekend. We’ve got two more rounds to go, so we’ll keep hustling and try to grab some trophies before the end of the year.”

David Reynolds, driver #20 TRADIE Energy Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Qualifying: P24
Race 29: P12

“Sunday at the Gold Coast 600, started qualifying with a bit of drama. We had an issue with the brake master cylinder and sat in the garage for the entire session. When I got in the car, the brake pedal was firm, but when I rested my foot on it, it started going to the floor, so I knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it fixed, so we started last for the race.

“From there, we just kept out of trouble, passed some cars and had reasonable pace. At one point, when the tank was light at the end of my stint, the car was really fast and we undercut a lot of people. Then there was a safety car with about five laps to go, and with all the chaos ahead I think I went from 15th to 12th.

“It was a crazy day, and we could’ve used that rain which looked like it was about to arrive, that would’ve really mixed things up for us. All in all, not a bad weekend. We had a lot of pace, just didn’t get the results we wanted.”