Saturday, 22 August 2026

Late-Race crash means Jobe Stewart leads Erebus 1-2 last-place finishers at Queensland Raceway

Original supplied to Speed Cafe, cropped by me.

Jobe Stewart (#9 Argus Auctions/Mackay Goodwin Chevrolet) finished last for the 2nd time in his career. The finish came after Stewart was involved in an incident that ended his race after 30 of the race’s 38 laps. The finish is Stewart’s 2nd of the season in 28 starts.

Jobe Stewart is one of five rookies running in 2026. He’s known for winning Super 3 in 2023 for Image Racing. While racing for Image Racing in 2024, he won at Bathurst and finished 5th in the championship. He ran for Erebus Motorsports in the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst with Cooper Murray. They finished 4th while leading for a considerable portion of the Bathurst 1000.

The rookie season has been challenging for Stewart. He sits last among full-time drivers in points and has struggled to get decent results. Stewart, however, qualified 8th at Townsville, but has finished no better than 16th.

Dick Johnson Racing elected to change the engine on Rylan Grey’s #38 Shell V-Power Ford between races, as the engine “sounded like a tractor”. This race would be eventful for Grey. Not in a good way.

Bayley Hall (#15 Supercheap Auto Chevrolet) started last. But at Turn 3, Rylan Grey ran off the track from 11th and fell to last.

The following lap, Macauley Jones (#96 JWL Toyota) went off at Turn 3, similar to Grey’s incident, and fell to last. One lap later, Ben Gomersal (#5 Unit Ford) got punted off at Turn 3, and fell behind both Grey and Jones.

Pit stops started on lap 11. Cameron Hill (#14 Dare Toyota) pitted and dropped to last. Jobe Stewart (#9 Argus Auctions/Mackay Goodwin Chevrolet) pitted a lap later and fell behind Hill. Worse, Stewart copped a penalty.

Next to last place was Aaron Seton (#30 Superior Cranes Chevrolet). Followed by fellow wildcard Ben Gomersal (#5 Unit Ford).

A few laps later, Rylan Grey’s day got worse. He locked up entering Turn 3 and ran into the sand, triggering a Safety Car. Grey lost 3 laps while safety crews retrieved his car.

After the restart, multiple drivers started having issues. Matt Payne had smoke come from his #19 Penrite Ford, though he finished 6th despite it. James Golding (#7 Cooldrive Distribution Ford) got punted, possibly by Ryan Wood (#2 Truck Assist/Mobil 1 Toyota).

Zach Bates (#10 Bendix Chevrolet) also faded.

Then the drama started for Erebus Motorsports.

Cooper Murray (#99 Total Energies Chevrolet) reported a power steering issue after contact. Murray would pull into the garage on the second safety car. Murray lost 5 laps in repairs.

His teammate, Jobe Stewart, meanwhile, got into a separate incident. Possibly with Zach Bates, but I have no other evidence except Bates’ late-race fade.

Ben Gomersal then went into the sand late. Despite getting out of the sand trap, the safety car was called. Though only for one lap.

By then, Stewart and Murray were in the garage. Murray returned to the track; Stewart didn’t.

Jayden Ojeda finished 24th after a penalty for spinning David Reynolds early in the race. Ojeda had to serve his penalty late in the race, losing tons of time.

Zach Bates completed the Bottom Five.

 

The Bottom Five

Jobe Stewart

30 Laps

Crash

Cooper Murray

34 Laps

Running

Rylan Grey

36 Laps

Running

Jayden Ojeda

36 Laps

Running

Zach Bates

36 Laps

Running

 

Driver’s Championship

Pos

Driver

Last

Bottom 3

Bottom 5

1

Jackson Walls

4

9

13

2

Cooper Murray

3

7

10

3

Ryan Wood

3

4

6

4

Jobe Stewart

2

9

14

5

Aaron Cameron

2

4

10

6T

Chaz Mostert

2

2

3

6T

Jack LeBrocq

2

2

2

8

Brodie Kostecki

2

2

2

9

Macauley Jones

1

9

11

10

Cameron Hill

1

3

5

11

Andre Heimgartner

1

3

3

12

David Reynolds

1

2

3

13

Aaron Seton

1

1

3

14T

Matt Payne

1

1

2

14T

James Golding

1

1

2

16

Baylan Hall

1

1

1

17

Rylan Gray

0

4

8

18

Declan Fraser

0

4

7

19

Zach Bates

0

3

8

20

Reuben Goodall

0

2

3

21

Kai Allen

0

2

2

22

Thomas Randle

0

1

2

23T

Broc Feeney

0

1

1

23T

Mark Winterbottom

0

1

1

23T

Ben Gomersal

0

1

1

26

Jayden Oeda

0

0

3

27

Will Brown

0

0

2

 


 

Team’s Championship

Pos

Driver

#

Last

Bottom 3

Bottom 5

1

Overdrive/RBR Racing

1

4

9

13

2

Walkinshaw Andretti United

2

5/2

6/2

9/2

3

Erebus Motorsports

2

4/2

14/2

22/2

4

Blanchard Racing Team

2

3/2

5/2

12/2

5

Matt Stone Racing

3

3/3

8/3

13/3

6

Brad Jones Racing

3

2/3

10/3

16/3

7

Dick Johnson Racing

3

2/3

6/3

10/3

8

Grove Racing

2

1/2

3/2

3/2

9

Team 18 Racing

3

2/3

3/3

4/3

10

Premair Racing

2

0

5/2

9/2

11

Tickford Racing

5

0

5/5

6/5

12

Red Bull Racing

2

0

1/2

3/2

 

Manufacturer’s Championship

Pos

Manufacturer

#

Last

Bottom 3

Bottom 5

1

Chevrolet

9

11/9

30/9

51/9

2

Toyota

5

6/5

18/5

19/5

3

Ford

14

9/14

29/14

35/14