Scotty v SVG: All you need to know about the showdown

There may be 24 other cars on the track this weekend in Newcastle, but when it comes down to deciding this year’s Supercars title, there are only two that matter – Kiwis Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen.

Here’s everything you need to know about this weekend’s action, which will be live blogged on Stuff.

What makes this weekend special? McLaughlin goes into this round with a narrow 14-point lead over van Gisbergen in the championship, and there are a maximum 300 points up for grabs over the weekend.

It’s the smallest points margin between the top two drivers heading into the decider in the last decade under the current points structure. So it could be just one position on either the Saturday or Sunday race that decides the title.

Wasn’t McLaughlin in this position last year? Yes, he had the proverbial one-hand-on-the-trophy last year when he won the Saturday race and his closest contender Jamie Whincup finished 21st.

It meant that even if Whincup won the Sunday race, McLaughlin would be the champion by finishing at least 11th.

But he had a meltdown, sped in the pit lane and had incidents with Simona de Silvestro and Jason Bright. He fought his way through the field to get to 11th, but then crashed into Craig Lowndes on the penultimate lap and was given a 15-second penalty, which dropped him down from 11th to 18th.

And wasn’t van Gisbergen in a similar position in 2016?

Yes, and he won.

Do they get on?

Well, that depends on who you’re talking to. Rumours surfaced of a feud between the drivers after the previous round, in Pukekohe, where after winning Saturday’s race van Gisbergen parked his car so closely to McLaughlin’s that he couldn’t get out.

Van Gisbergen tried to play it down, saying it was a mistake, but McLaughlin was far from amused and has had a number of digs about it, telling Stuff this week that: ‘‘I hate a sore winner and I felt definitely they didn’t celebrate the way that we probably would.

‘‘If I did that to Shane or anyone else, whether it was a mistake or not, the other person would be p ..... off.’’ Ouch.

Clearly, they’re both desperate to win the championship and are probably going to be best mates, but at a photo call in Newcastle on Thursday both drivers did look comfortable chatting with each other. Where does this weekend rank for New Zealand motorsport?

Tricky one. Obviously winning a predominantly Australian championship doesn’t compare to winning in Formula One, or what Scott Dixon has achieved in IndyCar.

But what makes this so special and unique is that it’s two New Zealanders battling out in a category that is of most interest to Kiwi motor racing and sports fans.

Who’s the favourite?

McLaughlin is the slight favourite, but anyone who says they can confidently pick the winner is kidding themselves.

You can make a case for McLaughlin by saying his ability to qualify well should give him an advantage around the tight street circuit.

But van Gisbergen is the more experienced driver and has strength in numbers with Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes racing tactically for him, while McLaughlin will have just Fabian Coulthard.

It’s going to be tense, it’s going to be thrilling and like last year, it might all go down to the last lap.