Team 18 is continuing their charge for the Supercars Championship as the Finals Series moves to their home race, the Sandown 500.

A short, fast track known for being extremely abrasive on tyres, Sandown Raceway has been a mainstay of the Australian touring car calendar for almost 60 years, with the Sandown 500 continuously switching between a single endurance event and the multi-race format currently used as a part of the Finals series.

Anton De Pasquale sits seventh in the standings, still in title contention heading into Sandown but currently 30 points behind the championship cutoff. Gold Coast saw the Cub Cadet Racing driver secure a strong P4 in Race 31, which provided a slim points buffer before a difficult Race 32. De Pasquale then fought his way back through the field after a tough qualifying, Lap 1 contact, and a puncture to secure a 14th place finish, enough to narrowly move on to the semi-finals.

De Pasquale heads to Sandown with high expectations from 2025, where he secured a podium finish, and will look to fight his way into the Championship 4 finale at Adelaide.

David Reynolds and the Snowy River Racing team head to Sandown coming off equalling their season-best result at Gold Coast, recording a second podium of the season in Race 31 thanks to a strong strategy in extremely treacherous weather. While early contact in Race 32 was less than ideal, Reynolds was still positive about the overall weekend and heads to Sandown with confidence.

The Sandown 500 weekend will comprise of two 250km, 79-lap races; Race 33 starting at 3:30pm AEDT on Saturday, and Race 34 at 3:30pm on Sunday, with all the action able to be viewed on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

QUOTES

Anton De Pasquale, Driver – #18 Cub Cadet Racing Chevrolet Camaro

“I’m looking forward to Sandown. Obviously, it’s the second round of the Finals, the semis, which I’m excited to be a part of.”

“I had a good car there last year, so hopefully we get something similar to fight at the front and head forward towards Adelaide.”

“I enjoy the weekend format we have at Sandown, so looking forward to the long races there… It kind of becomes a tyre life race, and you can always throw in some hectic weather like we got a little bit last year, and what we already saw at Gold Coast.”

“It’s exciting being this far into the Finals. Obviously, I didn’t get this far last year, so now to have a chance to contend for the Grand Final and go for the championship is big for myself and the team.”

David Reynolds, Driver – #48 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro

“I generally love going to Sandown, it’s a very old-school vibe with such a rough track and being quite dangerous in some spots.”

“With regards to the main straight, the dragstrips, you really need a good car to get solid drive off those corners; the last corner and Turn 4.”

“My position this weekend is obviously playing a bit of rear gunner for Anton, no different than any other team with a Finals contender is probably thinking. My role is just to help him fight the rest of the Top 7 and help him advance to the next round; race the guys he’s racing a little harder.”

“Generally my results around Sandown have been pretty good… last year we were fast in practice but then the conditions changed on Saturday and we didn’t do too well.”

“It’s going to be difficult in the sense of the Top Ten Shootout; the track itself is short and the weather is usually pretty cold, so that makes it take ages to get the car up to the right temperature window for tyres and fuel and the like. But that’s going to be the same for everyone, so we just have to execute.”

SCHEDULE
2026 Penrite Oil Sandown 500
All Times AEDT

Friday 6 November
2:40pm, Practice 1 (25 mins)
3:25pm, Practice 2 (25 mins)

Saturday 7 November
11:20am, Qualifying – Race 33 (35 mins)
12:05pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 33 (25 mins)
3:30pm, Race 33 (79 laps – 250km)

Sunday 8 November
11:20am, Qualifying – Race 34 (35 mins)
12:05pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 34 (25 mins)
3:30pm, Race 34 (79 laps – 250km)