Chaz Mostert admits he was simply trying to stay alive in the Supercars championship race after finishing second to Brodie Kostecki under a red-flagged opening race at the Adelaide grand final.
Friday's sprint ended before the 32-lap mark because of heavy rain, but Walkinshaw Andretti United star Mostert flaunted enough quality to cut his deficit to championship leader Broc Feeney to 13 points.
Dick Johnson Racing star Kostecki prevailed for his third win of the season after pole-sitter Feeney lost top spot on lap three.
The 23-year-old had locked up the tyres of his Triple Eight car and ran too wide at turn four of the rain-soaked street circuit.
Mostert was momentarily in top spot but pulled his punches against Kostecki, unwilling to risk his campaign for a maiden title with two more races slated for the weekend.
Ryan Wood followed teammate Mostert to finish third, while Feeney had to settle for fourth.
Will Brown was ninth in a blow to his title defence, while fellow grand finalist Kai Allen was fifth.
"It was a pretty tough race, to be honest. It didn't really feel like we had a lot of confidence in the car on the warm-up lap," Mostert said.
"You could easily make a mistake, and it can all be over.
"Today was about trying to survive, but also to try and still race as hard as you can, so just really pumped with the results."
Mostert issued a warning to Feeney after the two traded blows on the opening lap.
"Hopefully I'm on pole tomorrow, and he's on the outside and I'm showing what it's like hanging out there across the curb," Mostert joked.
Kostecki nets a $50,000 prize for his victory, a consolation after being eliminated following the first finals round on the Gold Coast.
It is a rapid change in fortune for the 2023 champion, with Kostecki crashing out of qualifying after losing control of his Ford Mustang because of oil on the track.
Brad Jones Racing's Andre Heimgartner came to a grinding halt with an engine failure earlier on Friday, resulting in the oil leakage.
"Considering I was head-on into the wall in qualifying again, I'd say (today) ended pretty well," Kostecki said.
Brown's race was derailed just seconds into the 32-lap race after the Triple Eight driver was spun around on the opening lap by Thomas Randle.
Randle copped a 15-second penalty for the contact, before suffering a race-ending crash on lap 20.
The Tickford driver had brought out the yellow flag after slamming heavily into the wall at turn eight, dislodging the concrete barrier.
Randle's teammate Cam Waters was also slapped with a 15-second penalty for spinning Erebus rookie Cooper Murray into the wall.
Waters finished 12th, with Murray 24th.
RACE 32 RESULTS:
1. Brodie Kostecki (Dick Johnson Racing)
2. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
3. Ryan Wood (WAU)
4. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
5. Kai Allen (Grove Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) 5089
2. Chaz Mostert (WAU) -13pts
3. Will Brown (Triple Eight) -48pts
4. Kai Allen (Grove) -53pts
