After just 0.0426s covered the top five in Qualifying for Race 13, earlier in the day, the Tickford Racing driver beat his rivals by 0.3123s in the one-lap dash.
He will share the front row with Walkinshaw Andretti United‘s Chaz Mostert, with Tickford‘s Thomas Randle and Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison, the latter of whom was the provisional pole-sitter, making for an all-Ford top four.
Erebus Motorsport’s Jack Le Brocq was quickest of the Chevrolet contingent and will share Row 3 with fellow Camaro driver Andre Heimgartner of Brad Jones Racing.
It had rained twice since the field qualified earlier in the day, creating uncertainty as to the condition of the Reid Park Street Circuit, and a couple of the earlier runners may have been caught out by weather.
There were no such problems for Mostert, though, who was sent out with a set of lightly roaded tyres on his #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang.
He clocked a 1:14.0355s, almost two tenths faster than the Le Brocq effort which had been fastest until then, with three drivers to come.
Thomas Randle (#55 Castrol Mustang) could not beat that target when he was a little loose through the second sector, but his 1:14.0467s left him only 0.0112s shy.
Randle’s team-mate Waters then blew both of them away with a 1:13.7232s in the #6 Monster Energy Mustang, with the fastest split in all three sectors.
That left just Davison to come and he set a 1:14.0988s in the #17 Shell V-Power Mustang to end up fourth all-told.
Le Brocq (#9 Tyrepower Camaro) had achieved a 1:14.2194s, while Heimgartner completed a 1:14.2963s in the #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
DJR’s Anton De Pasquale (#11 Shell V-Power Mustang) had a slide off Turn 3 on his way to a 1:14.3734s to take seventh, while Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney (#88 Red Bull Ampol Camaro) improved two positions to eighth with a 1:14.4153s.
Matt Payne (#19 Penrite Mustang) was forced into a big catch at the entry to Turn 7 and ultimately set a 1:14.9087s, the Grove Racing driver surmising he was unsettled by a damp line on the road.
BJR’s Bryce Fullwood (#14 Middy’s Camaro) dropped from eighth to 10th after a sizeable right-front lock-up at Turn 2, the Territorian possibly caught out by the tailwind, as he set a 1:15.8161s all-told.
Race 13 of the season is scheduled for 14:40 local time/AEST, with 88 laps the journey.
Results: Top 10 Shootout for Race 13, NTI Townsville 500
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Split |
| 1 | 6 | Monster Castrol Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Mustang GT | 1:13.7232 | |
| 2 | 25 | Mobil 1 Optus Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Mustang GT | 1:14.0355 | 0:00.3123 |
| 3 | 55 | Monster Castrol Racing | Thomas Randle | Ford Mustang GT | 1:14.0467 | 0:00.3235 |
| 4 | 17 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Will Davison | Ford Mustang GT | 1:14.0988 | 0:00.3756 |
| 5 | 9 | Erebus Motorsport | Jack Le Brocq | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:14.2194 | 0:00.4962 |
| 6 | 8 | R&J Batteries Racing | Andre Heimgartner | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:14.2963 | 0:00.5731 |
| 7 | 11 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Anton De Pasquale | Ford Mustang GT | 1:14.3734 | 0:00.6502 |
| 8 | 88 | Red Bull Ampol Racing | Broc Feeney | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:14.4153 | 0:00.6921 |
| 9 | 19 | Penrite Racing | Matthew Payne | Ford Mustang GT | 1:14.9087 | 0:01.1855 |
| 10 | 14 | Middy’s Racing | Bryce Fullwood | Chev Camaro ZL1 | 1:15.8161 | 0:02.0929 |
