New Zealand drivers could not transfer their qualifying speed into the races at the Supercars' Gold Coast 500.
Both Penrite Racing teammates Matt Payne and Richie Stanaway topped qualifying over the weekend on the Surfer's Paradise street circuit, dropped back during the Top-10 shootouts and ultimately both finished ninth in the respective races.
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Payne moved up to fifth in the Supercars championship standings after finishing fourth in Race 21 on Saturday and ninth in Race 22 on Sunday, more than 900 points behind the leader Will Brown.
The 22-year-old driver qualified sixth, dropped to ninth on the grid but work his way into a podium place, before a late pass saw him finish fourth in Saturday's safety car-free 85-lapper.
Stanaway surprised by clocking 1 minute 10.445 seconds to take provisional pole before Cam Waters edged him in the top-10 shootout.
After the first pit-stop cycle, Payne had moved up to fifth, while Stanaway, who started second, had dropped back to eighth after getting squeezed against the pit wall by James Courtney at the start.
Following the second cycle, Payne was third, while Kiwi Andre Heimgartner had got by Stanaway. Those positions held, as Heimgartner, who started 12th, held on for eighth, with Stanaway ninth.
Payne was passed by Broc Feeney on lap 75 to miss out on a podium result, while among other Kiwis, Jaxon Evans moved up seven places to finish 17th and Ryan Wood dropped five spots to 22nd.
Payne clocked 1:10.151 for provisional pole for Sunday's race but again could not repeat in the shootout, shuffled to sixth.
Stanaway started 11th - after qualifying ninth, being eighth in the shootout but copping a three-place penalty for impeding - and rookie Wood was in 10th after a stunning run to fourth in qualifying.
Stanaway, Wood and Evans were both involved in a lap 1 incident that involved a dozen cars. Stanaway dived on the inside of Wood and Anton de Pasquale, who nudged Wood into the tyre barrier.
After the first round of stops, Payne was fifth and Heimgartner, who had started 17th, was all the up to 10th. Payne was picked off by Thomas Randle and Cam Waters, before a slow second stop saw him fall further.
Heimgartner finished sixth, his eighth top-10 result of the season, Stanaway seventh, Payne ninth, Evans 15th after starting 21st, and Wood limping home in 21st, two laps down.
Overall, Heimgartner, who won the first race at Taupo in May, sits 10th in the championship, with Stanaway 16th, Wood 17th and Evans 23rd.
The Supercars season concludes with the two-race Adelaide 500 on November 16-17.