A wall of Holdens stands between championship leader Scott McLaughlin and his first Supercars crown.
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McLaughlin finished third in final qualifying for Saturday afternoon’s opening race of the Newcastle 500 weekend.
In front of him on the grid stand his main rival, fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen, and Jamie Whincup, the Holden driver who denied McLaughlin the championship in Newcastle last year.
McLaughlin heads the series by a tiny 14 points, and that lead looked even smaller after his Ford clocked 1:10.7143, seven hundredths of a second behind van Gisbergen’s 1:10.643.
The prospect of the two Red Bull Holden Racing Team drivers working together to hamper the DJR Team Penske star looms large before the first 250km race around the tight Newcastle circuit.
The race starts at 3.45pm. The championship ends with the second 250km race on Sunday.