Both the Supercars drivers’ and teams’ championships could be sealed at this weekend’s Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500.
Shane van Gisbergen is on the brink of securing the 2022 drivers’ title with two events remaining this season.
Mathematically, the Kiwi’s only rival is Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters, who is 567 points back, after Anton De Pasquale, Chaz Mostert, and Will Davison were knocked out of the running at Bathurst.
Only 600 points are up for grabs at the last two events, meaning van Gisbergen needs just another 33 points to be clear of Waters.
That is entirely possible this weekend on the Gold Coast, even as soon as Saturday.
Should Waters take victory in the first 250km race, van Gisbergen only needs to finish 24th to seal the title, with the tie-break of number of race wins in his favour.
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The Red Bull Ampol Racing driver has claimed victory 19 times this season to Waters’ three.
Triple Eight Race Engineering could also clinch its 11th teams’ championship on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The Banyo squad has a margin of 671 points over the Shell V-Power Racing Team, which was inflated at Bathurst after a DNF for Will Davison.
Dick Johnson Racing needs to outscore Triple Eight by 96 points to take the fight to Adelaide, meaning DJR cannot afford a DNF.
Should van Gisbergen and Feeney outscore Davison and Anton De Pasquale by 193 points in the Saturday race, the teams’ title will be wrapped up in Triple Eight’s favour.
It would be a historic moment for the squad, which is in the box seat to achieve an unprecedented feat.
A team has never won the Bathurst 1000, Supercars drivers’ championship, teams’ championship, and Dunlop Super2 Series all in a single year.
Car #97’s Great Race victory earlier this month is the first box ticked, while the other three are within reach.
In Super2, Triple Eight young gun Declan Fraser has a 75-point lead in the standings heading into the final round in Adelaide.
However, asked about the potential of winning the drivers’ and team’ titles this weekend on the Gold Coast, Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup refused to be complacent.
“They’re in question, you know what I mean,” he told select media, including Speedcafecom.
“We don’t go into the weekend with a focus of what could happen, we’re just concentrating on what we need to execute to do a good job here.
“We’ve got to remind ourselves, 250km each day, around this gnarly little street track [is tough].
“It doesn’t get any more of a concrete canyon than the Gold Coast and doesn’t get any more variable than what can go on over the weekend.
“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’re not overconfident.
“We’re here to do a good job and just concentrate on what needs to happen.”
Practice 1 on the Gold Coast begins on Friday at 12:35 local time/13:35 AEDT.
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