Top Stories of 2017, #19: Whincup crowned in mad Supercars finale

Even before the most epic of epic showdowns on the streets of Newcastle, it had been a classic Supercars season.

From the word go it was game on between Triple Eight, the powerhouse with all the title-winning know-how, and new kids on the block DJR Team Penske, who, thanks to engineering guru Ludo Lacroix, had the pace advantage.

In the end it boiled down to two 250-kilometre races on a brand new street circuit in Newcastle, six-time series winner Whincup holding a 30-point advantage over McLaughlin.

The entire finale weekend was a rollercoaster. That 30-point buffer meant even a couple of second places would have done the trick for Whincup, but the Red Bull-backed driver’s hopes took a massive belting on the first lap of Saturday’s race when he awkwardly ran into Michael Caruso and then fired into the wall.

The Triple Eight crew managed to get Whincup back out so he could be classified 21st (13 laps down) and score a handful of points, but his small advantage turned into a 78-point deficit to race winner McLaughlin.

Suddenly, it was McLaughlin’s championship to lose. All he needed was to finish 11th or better, regardless of where Whincup finished. And when he took an incredible 16th pole of the season on Sunday morning, while Whincup was once again just fifth, it seemed as if it was done and dusted.

The first stint of the race suggested the same. While McLaughlin found himself embroiled in a battle for the lead with Shane van Gisbergen, Whincup was plodding around in fourth.

Then the first round of pitstops started - and all hell broke loose.

The catalyst was McLaughlin being pinged for speeding on the way into the lane. With van Gisbergen right on his tail, the Penske driver breached the 40 km/h limit and was slapped with a drive-through.

It dropped him outside the Top 20, but there was still time to get back to P11. The only thing he had to do was pass more than 10 cars on the incredible tight inner city circuit, with next to no clear cut passing opportunities.

To McLaughlin’s credit, he almost did it. It wasn’t until he got to Simona de Silvestro, the car running 11th, that he got it wrong. A clumsy tap in the rear of the Nissan meant McLaughlin was given a 15-second penalty. He needed to start all over again, this time with just a single stint to go.

Meanwhile, van Gisbergen had let Whincup into the lead at the front of the field. There was no doubt about it anymore: it was 11th or bust.

Once again McLaughlin went on a tear, and this time a pair of Safety Cars helped him – or so it seemed. Twice he got to close up on the back of guys he was changing, and apart from a scare on the second restart when he got hit in the rear by Jason Bright, it was all going to plan.

Just to complicate matters, however, that second Safety Car had allowed Craig Lowndes to switch to brand new rubber – giving him a huge speed advantage for the run to the flag. His mission, clearly, was to run down McLaughlin.

With 10 laps to go the stage was set, McLaughlin on the back of the final two cars he needed to pass – the GRM Commodores of Garth Tander and James Moffat – while Lowndes was right on his gearbox and hustling to get by. McLaughlin was defending and attacking at the exact same time.

With five laps to go McLaughlin passed Tander, and Lowndes followed him through.

At the end of the penultimate lap, he passed Moffat… and this time Lowndes didn’t just follow him through, but got the better run out of Turn 1 as the pair started the final lap.

McLaughlin jinked left to cover his line, but it was too late. Lowndes was there, and McLaughlin’s move forced him into the wall. The Triple Eight driver was out on the spot, leaving McLaughlin to cross the line 11th… before being immediately hit with a post-race drive-through penalty for the crash.

The ultimate moment of desperation from McLaughlin was enough to seal Whincup a seventh title, a title he didn’t even know he’d won until he heard screaming from the crew in his radio earpiece. 

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