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James Courtney has won the 2010 V8 Supercars Championship Series by finishing 14th in the final race of the season at the Sydney Telstra 500.
The Jim Beam Racing driver started from 12th place and made a poor start, dropping a few positions off the line. He lost even more positions when a stuck wheel nut during his first pit stop cost him time.
Courtney pitted twice more in a conservative fuel strategy, eventually securing enough points over rival Jamie Whincup to become the new champion.
It is Courtney’s first V8 Supercars Championship Series success and the Ford Motor Company’s third in-a-row. The victory was also Dick Johnson Racing’s seventh Australian Touring Car crown.
The race was won by Fujitsu Racing’s Lee Holdsworth after SP Tools driver Shane van Gisbergen lost the lead on the final lap when his Falcon ran out of fuel.
In second plac was Steven Richards – competing in his final race for Ford Performance Racing.
Van Gisbergen took third – just – from Steve Johnson (Jim Beam Racing), who almost hit the slowing van Gisbergen on the start line, missing a spot on the podium by 0.01s.
Rounding out the top 10 was Jamie Whincup (TeamVodafone), Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone), Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel’s Racing), Michael Caruso (Fujitsu Racing), Garth Tander (Toll HRT) and Jonathon Webb (Mother Racing).
More news to follow …
| 1 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 2 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 3 | 9 | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 4 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 5 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 6 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 7 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 8 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 9 | 2 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 10 | 19 | Jonathon Webb | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 11 | 3 | Tony D’Alberto | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 12 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 13 | 8 | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 14 | 18 | James Courtney | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 15 | 55 | Paul Dumbrell | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 16 | 12 | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 74 |
| 17 | 16 | Tony Ricciardello | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 18 | 30 | Warren Luff | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 19 | 24 | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE | 74 |
| 20 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 74 |
| 21 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 72 |
| 22 | 11 | Jason Bargwanna | Holden Commodore VE2 | 70 |
| 23 | 4 | Alex Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 59 |
| DNF | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 65 |
| DNF | 47 | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 58 |
| DNF | 14 | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 54 |
| DNF | 22 | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VE2 | 47 |
| DNF | 21 | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE | 44 |
| DNF | 10 | Andrew Thompson | Holden Commodore VE2 | 37 |
Final Top 20 championship points
| 1 | James Courtney | 2992 |
| 2 | Jamie Whincup | 2879 |
| 3 | Mark Winterbottom | 2729 |
| 4 | Craig Lowndes | 2567 |
| 5 | Garth Tander | 2382 |
| 6 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 2262 |
| 7 | Rick Kelly | 2251 |
| 8 | Lee Holdsworth | 2237 |
| 9 | Paul Dumbrell | 2172 |
| 10 | Russell Ingall | 1922 |
| 11 | Michael Caruso | 1914 |
| 12 | Steven Johnson | 1886 |
| 13 | Jonathon Webb | 1774 |
| 14 | Jason Bright | 1642 |
| 15 | Tim Slade | 1595 |
| 16 | Jason Richards | 1547 |
| 17 | Steven Richards | 1492 |
| 18 | Todd Kelly | 1393 |
| 19 | Greg Murphy | 1363 |
| 20 | Alex Davison | 1281 |
