Crash legacy hampered Supercars champion Whincup in Adelaide opener

The reigning champion destroyed his brand new ZB Commodore with a huge Turn 8 shunt in qualifying on Friday afternoon, leading to an all-night repair to get him on the grid for the season-opener.

While the Triple Eight team was confident in the quality of the repair, Whincup admitted after finishing sixth that the car was not necessarily working as it should.

"Unfortunately five or 10 laps into the race we suffered some mechanical issues as result of the crash, which really just took the fight out of the battle for us," he said.

"There was a lot of smoke coming in the car from the whole side being trashed yesterday.

"The crew did the best job they could in the time they had, but it all needs resealing. And the steering is really tight, all brand new components.

"But it's all stuff we can fix overnight. All things considered, sixth, we'll take that and run as a strong start to the year."

Whincup also played down a mid-race incident with David Reynolds, in which the Red Bull Holden turned around as they squabbled over sixth place.

Reynolds admitted he had a few nervous moments wondering if the stewards would issue a penalty for the contact.

"I lunged him from a fair way back," Reynolds said.

"I got the move done, I was pretty committed from back there. I think he saw me and gave me enough room, and at the last second he turned very late.

"I thought I was sweet, I thought I was done. I was actually trying to half get out of it because I saw him turning.

"Maybe he doesn't expect me to do it, because I'm not usually a lunger. But I needed to get the move done then.

"I'm happy [the stewards] looked at it and reviewed it, and then saw it from both sides.

"We're racing, we're racing hard. It's a high-stakes game. I had a small opportunity, and you have to take it when you do."