Cody McKay reckons his Newcastle 500 debut was "better than lego" and vowed to come back bigger and better in 2020 despite a rollercoaster ride in the Aussie Racing Cars.
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The Merewether 31-year-old managed to complete his one and only race in the Supercars support category on Sunday after almost writing off his Commodore just 48 hours earlier during practice.
Simply making it back on the grid across the weekend was a win itself, but McKay felt buoyed by reaching the finish line and already cast his mind to next year.
"It was better than lego," McKay told the Newcastle Herald.
"We'll be back next year for sure. Rain, hail or shine."
The proud Novocastrian said it was a satisfying moment to "feel that chequered flag" on the streets of his home track.
He was 23rd in race four after failing to finish races one and three across the weekend. He didn't line-up in race two.
"We finally got a race finish in after all the troubles we had across the weekend," McKay said.
"Even this [last] race the clutch blew out, first gear blew out and the whole engine was rat shit.
"I was just trying to get the bloody thing to the end and there were a few scary moments with cars going up the side of me.
"But [once I got there] it was like all the pressure came off. I finally ticked it off. Only a few Newcastle people have felt that chequered flag before and I'm glad to be one of them."
The damage from Friday's crash was extensive and McKay praised the support of his team and rivals.
"We near wrote the car off," he said.
"We had to build new cross benders, re-weld all the control arms, buy new bits and beg, borrow and steal a second-hand motor.
"The whole Aussie Racing Car family chipped in with a part here and a part there."
Also in Aussie Racing Cars, the best result for Warners Bay 21-year-old Charlotte Poynting was ninth in race three on Sunday.
In the Toyota 86 Series, Maitland's Hayden Jackson and Newcastle's Gavan Reynolds both had challenging weekends.