Championship leader Kostecki quickest in Friday qualifying

The 26-year-old West Australian holds a 131-point points lead over defending Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen heading into this weekend’s racing, which begins tomorrow afternoon with a 250km tilt around the Adelaide street circuit.

Kostecki will start last in the ARMOR ALL Top Ten Shootout after claiming the quickest time in Friday’s qualifying session, edging Penrite Ford’s David Reynolds by 0.01 of a second.

"I thought [provisional] pole was a lot faster than what I did," said Kostecki, who has claimed eight ARMOR ALL Pole Positions this season.

"I probably put a little bit too much on the line there trying to do the lap, but stoked with that.

"I had no idea I was even in the Shootout or on [provisional] pole... the car felt okay out there, but it's so hard at street circuits, the cars are really lively on top of the track."

Third in qualifying was Reynolds’ kiwi rookie Mustang driver, Matt Payne who was just 0.2 off Kostecki’s lap time himself.

Van Gisbergen, chasing a fourth Supercars driver’s title, was fourth quickest in qualifying in his Red Bull Ampol Camaro.

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Behind van Gisbergen was the Ford duo of Castrol Racing’s Thomas Randle, Shell V-Power’s Anton De Pasquale while the final four drivers to qualify for the fan-favourite Shootout were Will Brown, Chaz Mostert, Cam Waters and James Golding.

Tomorrow’s Shootout will feature four Chevrolet Camaros and six Ford Mustangs.

Missing the Shootout was last year’s VAILO Adelaide 500 winner, Broc Feeney who was 11th just 0.06 of a second behind Golding.

2012 Adelaide 500 winner Will Davison was the other big name to miss the Shootout and will start from 12th position on Saturday’s opening race of the event.

Live coverage of the VAILO Adelaide 500 can be found on Seven and Foxtel, with streaming available on 7plus and Kayo.

Tickets to the iconic street race can be purchased via Supercars.com and Ticketek.

VAILO Adelaide 500 Track Schedule

Saturday November 25
12:05-12:35 Supercars – Top 10 Shootout (Race 1)
14:50-16:45 Supercars – Race 1

Sunday October 8
10:15-10:30 Supercars – Qualifying (Race 2)
12:05-12:35 Supercars – Top 10 Shootout
14:45-16:45 Supercars – Race 2