A misfiring engine was behind Holden hero Jamie Whincup slipping from the lead in both the Clipsal 500 and the V8 Supercar championship.

After a phenomenal drive to win and take maximum points on Saturday, Team Vodafone’s Whincup perhaps paid the price in Adelaide in Sunday’s race two as an engine miss curtailed his car speed.

Whincup led until the 37th lap of the 78-lap race before his car shuddered and allowed three rivals past – including eventual winner Will Davison’s Ford.

The defending V8 champion had been complaining of an engine misfire for several laps.

But his team decided against any immediate pit stop, and it proved the right move as Whincup kept going despite the problem to finish fourth.

Whincup now sits second behind Davison in the series standings heading into the next championship round in Tasmania later this month.

Elsewhere, several teams are counting the cost of car carnage in Adelaide.

Holden drivers Greg Murphy and Jonathon Webb failed to make the grid for Sunday’s race after a huge crash during the morning qualifying session.

Murphy rear-ended Webb at speed, destroying both cars with neither able to be repaired in time for the race.

And Holden driver James Courtney also had a wretched weekend, picking up just a handful of points after failing to finish on Saturday and struggling badly on Sunday.

Despite his Holden Racing Team working overnight to fix a car badly damaged in a Saturday smash, the 2010 champion was unable to complete a lap during Sunday qualifying – his car stopping midway through his first lap.

He started from the rear of the grid for Sunday’s race and was again beset by car trouble, finishing 25th.

Team owner Ryan Walkinshaw said two failed tailshafts were responsible for Courtney’s Sunday woes.

“What are the odds of two breaking in one day? I feel terrible for James,” he said.

The V8s will next race in a non-championship event as part of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 15-18.