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Paul Morris has snatched the 2017 Stadium Super Trucks title thanks to the exploits of injury replacement Jerret Brooks in the World Championship Finals.
Morris trailed fellow Australian Matt Brabham by 15 points heading into the season finale at the Lake Elsinore Diamond Stadium, but had to pull out due to the flare-up of a rib injury.
Brabham suffered a setback when he failed to qualify for the Final due to a mechanical failure during the heats, losing 10 points from his series lead and forcing him into the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
Arie Luyendyk Jr led for most of the way in the LCQ, while Brabham did just enough to make the Final by staving off Burt Jenner to finish second.
However, he still faced a hard ask in the Final, with Brooks starting in Morris’ truck from Row 2 and Brabham from the back.
Robby Gordon and Apdaly Lopez exchanged the lead in a typically bruising opening to the 12-lap Final before Sheldon Creed took over the ascendancy thanks to an earlier joker lap.
Brooks had moved up to second, behind Creed, by the mid-race Competition Caution, and while he couldn’t find a way past the #1 truck in the second half of the race, it was enough to earn the title for Morris.
Gordon took third while Brabham crossed the finish line in eighth position after escaping a final-lap incident which saw Lopez’ truck flip end-over-end.
Stadium Super Trucks’ first event of 2018 will be back at Lake Elsinore in late-January.
