Whincup wins Race 30 and takes Jason Richards Memorial Trophy

Whincup crossed the finish line 4.1 seconds clear of teammate Craig Lowndes. Scott Pye closed out a strong weekend with the first podium of his career and DJR Team Penske.

Whincup scored 294 points during the weekend, which earned him the Jason Richard Memorial Trophy, earning 35 points more than David Reynolds, who finished fourth on Sunday. Michael Caruso rounded out the top five.

The 200km kicked off with a chaotic start. Whincup jumped ahead of poleman Scott McLaughlin as multiple cars went off track behind him.

Despite contact throughout the field, all drivers kept their cars pointed in the right direction until championship leader Mark Winterbottom got turned off the nose of Jason Bright. Winterbottom was roughed up as he marched his way back up through the field, finishing 11th in the end. He leaves Auckland with 239 points over Reynolds and 240 over Lowndes.

The first and only safety car intervention came soon after when Nick Percat stalled on track after a spin.

The race restarted on Lap 10 and Whincup immediately checked out. Lowndes moved into the runner-up position during mid-race pit stops, leaping ahead of the Bottle-O Ford, but he could not run down the eventual race winner.

Drama ensued around the tenth spot late in the going. The two HRT entries and Cam Waters collided, sending James Courtney spinning. Winterbottom arrived on the scene and narrowly avoided running into his teammate, who was issued a drive-through penalty for the incident.

The series now heads to Phillip Island in two weeks for the penultimate round of the 2015 championship season.