The veterans walked up pit lane to applause from rival crews and various officials before climbing into their cars and leading the field to the grid.

Slade, 39, is a universally liked figured in the paddock and retires from full-time driving after 15 seasons that yielded two race wins.

“I won’t lie, I was a little bit against it at the start when the team first told me about that,” said Slade when asked of the farewell walk during Monday night’s Supercars Gala Awards.

“I don’t know, I guess I didn’t want the fuss, especially to do it with someone like Mark who has won the championship and Bathurst. I didn’t really feel I was worthy of that kind of send-off.

“I actually sent (Supercars’ TV boss) Nathan Prendergast a message [on Monday] and said how thankful I was to him for putting that together.

“That’s a memory that will last for a long time. That sportsmanship and support from your peers, there’s nothing more important than that, so it was pretty cool.”

The pair were stopped along the way to be greeted by crew members they’d previously worked with. It was an experience that Winterbottom also lapped up.

“It was so special walking up pitlane,” said the 2015 champion during his Gala speech.

“To see some of the people that I respect so much… we battle hard as a sport and when you’re on track, it’s ‘dog eat dog’. But when you’re off, it’s full of respect.

“Walking up that pitlane, shaking hands and seeing some of the great people I’ve worked with throughout the years, engineers, mechanics, they are the backbone of our sport.”

Hopes of a fairytale finish for either retiree were dashed when they collided early in the 250km race – Winterbottom spinning Slade and copping a penalty.

Slade and Winterbottom ended the race 14th and 20th respectively. It capped a tough year for both that ended with Winterbottom 15th in the standings and Slade 20th.

“The last couple of rounds have been pretty average, so I just wanted nothing more than to have a bit of speed and a couple of good results,” said Slade.

“Saturday was average. Sunday we had a bit of speed but got taken out by my fellow retiree. Maybe it was a race for first retiree. That was me, in the end.”

Winterbottom later claimed the collision was the result of mistaken identity.

“I’ve got to say sorry to Sladey for hitting him, I thought it was Golding,” he said to great laugher from the room. “It was a square-up for him, so you shouldn’t have swapped positions!”

Winterbottom and Slade will both return to the Supercars Championship as co-drivers in 2025.

The former is returning to Tickford Racing to drive alongside Cam Waters while Slade will link with Nick Percat at Matt Stone Racing, as revealed by Speedcafe last week.