AUSTRALIAN SUPERCARS
QUEENSLAND RACEWAY (AUS)
27-28 JULY
ROUND 9/15
It was a showdown of the Supercars
powerhouses at Queensland Raceway,
with Jamie Whincup (above, left) and
Scott McLaughlin securing a win apiece.
The Ipswich weekend started according
to the 2019 script, as runaway points leader
McLaughlin dominated practice before
grabbing his 12th pole of the season – and
the 100th in Dick Johnson Racing/DJR
Team Penske history – on Saturday.
But there was a twist during Saturday’s
120km opener. Starting on the outside of
the front row, Whincup managed to sneak
down the inside of McLaughlin on the
run to Turn 2 on the opening lap. When
McLaughlin was then shuffled back behind
Will Davison and Chaz Mostert, Whincup
was free to charge to a clinical win.
It was his first of the 2019 season, and
broke a winless streak dating back 24 races
to last year’s Sandown 500 – his longest
since joining Triple Eight 13 years ago.
Dissatisfied with his fourth place on
Saturday, McLaughlin came out swinging
on Sunday. He broke his own unofficial lap
record during the final practice hit-out,
before taking another pole in qualifying.
He came under fire again through the
first two corners of the race, this time
from Mostert, but McLaughlin cleverly
hugged the inside line to protect his
position. From there he dominated
the first two stints of the 200kme race,
but the third and final stint proved
a little trickier. Having jumpedMostert during the first round of stops, and
overhauled Whincup early in the second
stint, Shane van Gisbergen emerged as
a real contender late in the race.
The Holden driver was able to erase
McLaughlin’s five-second advantage going
into the final phase, the two Kiwis separated
by just over a second with seven laps to go.
For the final five laps they ran nose-to-
tail, van Gisbergen doing his best to unsettle
the long-time leader. But having used the
best of his Dunlops catching the Penske
Ford, he was unable to find a way past,
McLaughlin holding on for a thrilling win.
The drama didn’t end there –
McLaughlin was fined $10,000 for
taking a promotional poster onto
the podium, and another $3000 for
his exuberant post-race burnout.
ANDREW VAN LEEUWENNASCAR CUP
POCONO (USA)
28 JULY
ROUND 21/36Ryan Preece’s spin into the
Turn 1 wall on lap 114 at
Pocono seemed innocuous
enough – Chase Elliott had
done the same thing at
Turn 3 and retired. But it
proved to be race-defining
as the resulting caution,
followed by a period of
fuel saving, allowed the
Toyota Camry of Denny
Hamlin to pounce forvictory in the final laps.
With a fuel window of
around 40 laps, as the race
restarted after Preece’s
shunt, drivers could opt
to eke 42 laps out of a tank
and try to be in contention.
Three such risk-takers
were the Joe Gibbs Racing
contingent of Hamlin, Erik
Jones and Martin Truex Jr.
Running behind off-
strategy team-mate Kyle
Busch, whose race was
destroyed by the caution,
the trio broke away, with
Jones leading Truex.Hamlin tucked in behind
as he saved fuel, but then
struck on lap 144 – never
then surrendering top
spot, even through a
period of overtime.
Jones pipped Truex
for second, with William
Byron and polesitter
Kevin Harvick, the top
Chevrolet and Ford drivers,
in fourth and sixth.
Stage-one winner Busch
fell to ninth, while stage-
two victor Jimmie Johnson
could only manage 15th.
JAKE NICHOLDelicate Denny wins economy run
Whincup breaks winless streak as
McLaughlin fined for celebrations
KLYNSMITHHARRELSON/NKP40 AUTOSPORT.COM 1 AUGUST 2019