A duel with three-time series winner Shane van Gisbergen on one of Australia's iconic street circuits stands between Brodie Kostecki and a maiden Supercars championship crown.
The Erebus driver (2696 points) enjoys a 131-point buffer from van Gisbergen (Triple Eight) ahead of the last round of the season in Adelaide.
With 150 points going to the winner in both of the weekend's two 250km races, Kostecki faces a tense final weekend battle that could come down to the last race.
Should Kostecki fall short, van Gisbergen could yet cap his last Supercars race with another championship before moving to the NASCAR series in the US.
Erebus team manager Barry Ryan concedes van Gisbergen's experience in Adelaide has given them some pause for thought.
Including four consecutive pole-to-flag victories in 2017 and 2018, the New Zealander is an eight-time pole-getter and a five-time winner at the street circuit.
"We don't have the experience. These guys have got the championships," Ryan said on Thursday.
"But we're just going to go and win both races. That's what we've been trying to do all year.
"So if we win both races, it will take care of itself.
"It's a big occasion but everybody in the workshop, Brodie, Will (Brown), everybody's really chilled out, really relaxed and ready to go."
Erebus and Triple Eight are also in contention for the teams championship, with Kostecki's partner and former series leader Brown leading Broc Feeney (Triple Eight) by nine points in third place.
Brown is looking to cap his final year at Erebus with the teams title before departing to Triple Eight as van Gisbergen's replacement.
"Will is every part an Erebus driver this weekend," Ryan said.
"He wants us to win the championship. He wants to win the team championship.
"He wants to get third as well so he'll be doing everything he can this weekend for us.
"Then Sunday night will decide whether we let him come to the gala and the Christmas party with us."
Dogged by wet weather conditions, Kostecki finished ninth in Thursday's practice session while van Gisbergen came 22nd out of the 25 drivers after trialing slick tyres.
Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) clocked the fastest lap in the wet with a time of 1:28.610, finishing 0.258 seconds clear of Andre Heimgartner (Brad Jones Racing).
Drivers will have another practice session before qualifying for Race 27 starts at 5:35pm ADCT on Friday.
Rain is forecasted to dominate the weekend until Sunday.
