Erebus Motorsport star Brodie Kostecki has claimed his maiden Supercars crown despite finishing sixth at the Adelaide 500.
After a crash forced defending champion Shane van Gisbergen (Triple Eight) out of the race, Kostecki simply needed to complete the 78 laps to clinch the title.
In the end, his Chevrolet Camaro was outpaced by the Ford Mustangs with Tickford Racing's Cam Waters taking out the first 250km race of the weekend, by 0.6708 seconds.
Fellow Ford drivers David Reynolds (Penrite Racing) and Thomas Randle (Tickford) rounded out the podium, while Kostecki slumped from pole position to sixth.
But the finish was enough to give Kostecki an unassailable 233-point lead in the championship standings.
Should van Gisbergen bounce back and take out the second race of the weekend, he will only close the gap by 150 points.
Kostecki is the first Australian driver to win the championship since Jamie Whincup in 2017.
"I've raced in many different races and to race against these guys in Australia and win a championship, it's pretty cool," Kostecki said.
"But I was trying to win the race today and we honestly just sucked today, so we've got a bit of work to do."
The hotly anticipated season finale started with in chaotic fashion after Kostecki's teammate Will Brown collided with van Gisbergen on the opening lap.
Brown went outside of Dick Johnson Racing's Anton De Pasquale at turn four, making side-to-side contact which forced him into the boundary.
He then ricocheted off the wall and into van Gisbergen, taking both drivers out of the race.
"I was pretty gutted for Will and also Shane," Kostecki said.
"You never want to win something when your rivals have misfortune.
"It was obviously a bummer. It's now how I want to win things ... but it is what it is. You can't change it."
Kostecki survived his own nervous start, holding onto the top spot after bumping fellow front-row starter Reynolds.
Reynolds was able to sneak past Kostecki at turn nine on lap 15, while Kostecki dropped to 11th after taking a pit stop on lap 22.
But Reynolds got a taste of his own medicine after Waters pulled the same move to snatch the lead on lap 41.
Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United) enjoyed a momentary lead with Waters and Reynolds both in pit lane, before taking his own stop with 24 laps to go.
Waters then returned to the front on lap 55 and dominated until the chequered flag, taking out his third race of the season.
Fans will need to wait until Race 28 which starts at 3.45pm (AEDT) on Sunday to find out who takes out the teams' championship, with Erebus enjoying a 161-point lead over Triple Eight.
Qualifying will get underway at 10.45am (AEDT).
RACE 27 RESULTS:
1. Cam Waters (Tickford)
2. David Reynolds (Penrite)
3. Thomas Randle (Tickford)
4. Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw Andretti United)
5. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Brodie Kostecki - 2798 pts
2. Shane van Gisbergen - 2565 pts
3. Broc Feeney - 2303 pts
4. Will Brown - 2201 pts
5. Chaz Mostert - 2176 pts
