Ford driver Scott McLauglin has fulfilled his dream by winning the 2018 Supercars Championship with second place behind Holden’s Dave Reynolds in the Newcastle 500 on Sunday.
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Promising not to swear and lost for words to explain his excitement, an elated McLaughlin exclaimed: “Holy smoke, I just can’t believe we just just did it.
“Holy guacamole!”
The Supercars series win was redemption after McLaughlin lost the 2017 series on the last lap to Red Bull Racing’s Jamie Whincup after leading by 78 points going into the final race.
This year McLaughlin, 25, led Whincup’s teammate Shane van Gisbergen by 53 points going into the final day, needing to finish sixth or better to win the title if van Gisbergen won the race.
But it was McLaughlin’s day and he led for much of the second half of the race, until his team decided to allow Reynolds to pass, and take the victory, and avoid any mishaps in the final laps.
Both Kiwis, McLaughlin and van Gisbergen have battled for the series throughout the year and the rivalry had another twist when a 25-second time penalty stripped van Gisbergen of his Saturday win.
The fuel hose remained connected when his Commodore was being dropped to the ground, which contravenes regulations.
While van Gisbergen was bitterly disappointed by the decision, he paid tribute to McLaughlin and said he was a worthy winner.
McLaughlin shared his rival’s sentiments.
“I have to pay respect to Shane we raced hard all year and it was a hell of a battle,” he said.
In the final race, however, there was no controversy as McLaughlin finished more than 40 seconds ahead of his rival.
A hugely popular series winner, the young Kiwi celebrated with a huge donut, spewing smoke into the crowd.
But the biggest smoke stack was raised by Craig Lowndes in his final race as a full-time driver.
Lowndes finished 11th but briefly led the race while McLaughlin, Reynolds and van Gisbergen pitted.
Pole-sitter Dave Reynolds won the start and led McLaughlin and van Gisbergen until all three pitted together after 20 laps.
McLaughlin emerged from the pits as race leader, ahead of Reynolds, with van Gisbergen in fifth.
He took charge of the race from that point.
It was a fitting finale for the Falcon, which will be replaced by the Mustang next season.
Driving in No.17, the number made famous by Ford legend Dick Johnson, McLaughlin won the 17th championship for Falcon.
Supercars announced a three-day crowd total of 162,248, 30,000 fewer than the figure they issued after last year’s inaugural race.
