Whincup crowned Supercar champion

You will not see a crazier championship deciding race than the 2017 Supercars finale.

Jamie Whincup took out the Newcastle 500 and the championship yesterday but only after Scott McLaughlin was penalised for a late-race incident with Craig Lowndes that earned him a 25-second penalty.

McLaughlin had led comfortably early from pole but was nobbled first by a penalty for speeding on the entry, dropping him down to the tail of the field.

He fought his way back to 12th but made contact with Simona De Silvestro trying to secure the 11th position he needed to put the title beyond doubt, copping yet another penalty.

Once again McLaughlin fought back and was a few spots away from 11th when he was hit from behind on a restart and left with damage.

A series of bold passes put him back into 11th place, only to run wide at turn one with two laps to go.

Lowndes moved to the inside and McLaughlin moved to defend. The cars made contact, Lowndes spinning into the barriers while McLaughlin took the chequered flag in 11th.

However stewards handed him a post-race time penalty, the added 25 seconds, dropping him to 18th place, seven lower than he needed to prevent Whincup from taking a record-breaking seventh title.

“I lost my left-hand mirror early. Obviously I knew we were close but not that close. I just defended the line into (turn) two,” McLaughlin said.

Shane van Gisbergen made it a one-two finish for Red Bull, allowing Whincup past midway through the race to give his teammate the best possible chance of winning, while David Reynolds rounded out the top three.