V8 JOKER Dave Reynolds has revealed he was not trying to be funny when he declared his rivals were either “cheats’’ or “shit’’ in a stunning aftermath to the Phillip Island 500.

Reynolds sensationally weighed into the parity argument on Sunday night when he addressed accusations that the new Commodore had an aerodynamic advantage over both Ford and Nissan.

“It is the same old story in motorsport,’’ Reynolds said after a Nissan and a Ford joined him on the Phillip Island podium.

“Everyone in front of me cheats and everyone behind me can’t drive for shit.’’

On Monday Reynolds stood by his comments claiming everyone in motorsport was after an excuse for not winning.

The Erebus Motorsport star made the comments following suggestions his strong season start was helped by the shape of the new Commodore.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny,’’ Reynolds said.

“That is motorsport. Everyone thinks that anyone beating them is a cheat. No one says it is because they are doing a better job. That is just the way it is. The only time no one is cheating is when you win.’’

Reynolds moved to outright second on the Supercars ladder on Sunday when he finished second behind Scott McLaughlin and his flying Falcon.

The straight shooting driver has been this year’s revelation with a string of giant killing performances.

Reynolds was adamant his performance had nothing to too with the all new ZB Commodore.

“People just need to accept that sometimes someone does a better job,’’ Reynolds said.

“I think the weekend showed that there is parity in the category with Ford winning both races and a Nissan on the podium for both of them too.’’

Reynolds went further to claim Ford still had the fastest car on the grid.

“Arguably Ford still have the best package,’’ Reynolds said.

“But I am not going to complain because really it is all the same. We all have strengths and weaknesses in certain areas. That even applies to different team’s running the same car. We can’t be exactly equal in every area but our strengths and weaknesses all add up to make us as close to equal as possible.’’

Reynolds applauded his team for giving him the fastest Holden on the grid yesterday.

“We actually stole (teammate) Anton’s (de Pasquale) set-up on Saturday night,’’ Reynolds said.

“He was our knight in shining armour. I plugged his set-up in and went front row. He was responsible for putting me up there and I would have been between 6th and 10th without him. That shows the difference a set-up can make.’’

Reynolds will be out to challenge for the lead of the championship when the Supercars resume in Perth next month.

McLaughlin now leads the championship after a horror weekend saw Jamie Whincup dumped to fifth.

“We will be out to keep up the momentum,’’ Reynolds said.

“It is a track I like better than Phillip Island so I will go in with plenty of confidence.’’