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James Courtney's "chaotic" family situation made for an interrupted lead-in to the Supercars' season-finale at the Adelaide 500 for the Ford veteran.

A jubilant James Courtney was thrilled to secure third place at the Adelaide 500 after a difficult period for his family.

The Ford veteran never considered not racing in the South Australian capital despite his six-week-old son Kobe undergoing emergency surgery last week.

"I always had to come because I had to put food in the little bastard's mouth," Courtney joked.

Courtney's child with wife Tegan has recovered quickly but the 42-year-old admitted the situation made the podium finish more special than usual.

"It means a lot, we've had a chaotic couple of weeks for the family," Courtney said.

"There was a lot of drama coming into this.

"It's hard leaving, but the good thing about is the situation changed so quickly.

"When the surgeon said you'd see results within 24 hours and in 48 hours you won't even see the incision where they went in, I thought he was talking a bit of crap

"He (Kobe) started putting on a good amount of weight and we're out of hospital so leaving was easier for me than Tegan, she's at home still and getting checks at the hospital.

"If it was this week it would have been incredibly tough, I would have been here and then home straight away."

The 2010 Supercars champion has battled to be up the front in recent years, with this race being just his second podium of the season and third since joining Tickford midway through 2020.