Scott McLaughlin snatched the Armor All pole position for Race 9 at Winton following a last ditch effort in a hotly contested qualifying session.
The DJR Team Penske driver made the most of his final run to leap to the top of the timing screens with a 1:19.38s after the chequered flag flew in the 15-minute session.
McLaughlin had been outside of the top five entering the dying minutes before his impressive final lap earned him a fifth pole position of the season by 0.16s.
His time, set on a third run, demoted Prodrive’s Chaz Mostert, who moved to the top of the times moments before the chequered flag.
“It was pretty rushed and I was just trying to get a nice gap there and I was lucky in the end,” said McLaughlin.
“There was a bit of traffic but lucky to hang on.
“I was pretty pumped after that one because when you work for them it makes it good.”
Triple Eight’s Shane van Gisbergen held provisional pole for much of the session before sliding down to third courtesy of McLaughlin and Mostert’s times.
“We’re not good enough on the bumps,” said van Gisbergen.
“We’ve got a good car on the flat corners but when we have to use the kerbs our car is not so stable.”
Jamie Whincup will line up alongside his reigning Supercars champion team-mate in fourth, while the sister DJR Team Penske Falcon of Fabian Coulthard was fifth.
Brad Jones Racing’s Nick Percat continued on his strong showing in sixth ahead of Rick Kelly, who was the top Nissan entry.
Will Davison’s Tekno Autosports Holden Commodore was eighth, while the Prodrive duo of Mark Winterbottom and Cameron Waters rounded out the top 10.
Wildcard runner James Golding impressed in 18th spot ahead of Craig Lowndes in 19th and fellow wildcard Macauley Jones.
The two Mobil 1 HSV Racing Commodores of Scott Pye and James Courtney continued to struggle in 21st and 23rd respectively.
Supercars Race 9 is scheduled to begin at 1600 local time.
Result: Virgin Australia Supercars Championship Winton Super Sprint Race 9 Qualifying
| 1 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:19.3807*SS | |
| 2 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:19.5447 SS | 00.1640 |
| 3 | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Shane Van Gisbergen | Holden Commodore VF | 1:19.5747 SS | 00.1940 |
| 4 | Red Bull Holden Racing Aust | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VF | 1:19.6454 SS | 00.2647 |
| 5 | Shell V-Power Racing Team | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:19.7619 SS | 00.3812 |
| 6 | Freightliner/Alliance Truck | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:19.8698 SS | 00.4891 |
| 7 | Sengled Racing | Rick Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:19.9055 SS | 00.5248 |
| 8 | TEKNO Woodstock Racing | Will Davison | Holden Commodore VF | 1:19.9425 SS | 00.5618 |
| 9 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:19.9448 SS | 00.5641 |
| 10 | Monster Energy Racing | Cameron Waters | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:19.9705 SS | 00.5898 |
| 11 | carsales Racing | Todd Kelly | Nissan Altima | 1:19.9961 SS | 00.6154 |
| 12 | Preston Hire Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.0261 SS | 00.6454 |
| 13 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.1508 SS | 00.7701 |
| 14 | Erebus Penrite Racing | David Reynolds | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.1716 SS | 00.7909 |
| 15 | Freightliner Racing | Tim Slade | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.1864 SS | 00.8057 |
| 16 | MEGA Racing | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon FG/X | 1:20.2024 SS | 00.8217 |
| 17 | Nissan Motorsport | Michael Caruso | Nissan Altima | 1:20.2208 SS | 00.8401 |
| 18 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Golding | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.2867 SS | 00.9060 |
| 19 | TeamVortex | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.2894 SS | 00.9087 |
| 20 | Drillpro Racing | Macauley Jones | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.2901 SS | 00.9094 |
| 21 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | Scott Pye | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.3439 SS | 00.9632 |
| 22 | Team CoolDrive | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.3995 SS | 01.0188 |
| 23 | Mobil 1 HSV Racing | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.4620 SS | 01.0813 |
| 24 | Team Harvey Norman | Simona De Silvestro | Nissan Altima | 1:20.4749 SS | 01.0942 |
| 25 | Wilson Security Racing GRM | James Moffat | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.9073 SS | 01.5266 |
| 26 | Erebus GB Galvanizing Racing | Dale Wood | Holden Commodore VF | 1:20.9762 SS | 01.5955 |
| 27 | Loco Energy Drink | Shae Davies | Nissan Altima | 1:21.0538 SS | 01.6731 |
| 28 | Repair Management Aust Racing | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.1823 SS | 01.8016 |
| 29 | LD Motorsport | Alex Rullo | Holden Commodore VF | 1:21.4057 SS | 02.0250 |
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