Motorsport: Supercars - McLaughlin v Whincup - where the title was won

Scott McLaughlin of DJR Team Penske in action on the streets of Newcastle. Photo / Mark Horsburgh

The 2017 Supercars title should really go to Kiwi Scott McLaughlin – he's been the dominant driver this year after all.

The 24-year-old Shell V-Power Ford racer takes a 78-point lead over Red Bull Holden rival Jamie Whincup heading into the final race of the season today. That margin means he would win the championship by finishing 11th or better.

While Whincup cruelly saw the title slip through his fingers after an opening lap crash yesterday he was fortunate to be in that position in the first place.

McLaughlin has clearly been the faster driver in 2017. He set a new qualifying record with 15 pole positions across the season and he has more race wins that any other driver this year with eight.

But a failed Bathurst 1000 will stand out like a beacon should he somehow finish second to Whincup when the chequered flag drops. The engine in McLaughlin's Ford gave up halfway through the 1000km test and he failed to score any points, conceding a healthy championship lead in the process. With a massive 300 points on offer in the toughest race of the year the punishment was severe - some might even think unfair.

There was a bad opening round at the Clipsal 500 where he dropped points to his rivals and an unnecessary bit of contact with fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen that cost him a drive-through penalty at Sydney Motorsport Park as well.

Whincup on the other hand has been the mark of consistency. He hasn't had the outright pace in his Red Bull Holden this year, which has been something new for the six-time series champion to deal with. But Whincup and his team have found ways to manufacture results that have kept them in the championship running.

The prime example of that was at Bathurst when his Holden engine also let go. But he managed to get the car back to the garage, where the team spent a long time repairing the car and was able to get it back out on the track at the end of the race to be classed as a finisher and therefore collect some valuable points.

Whincup's season has had moments of drama as well. His team didn't get the strategy right at Queensland Raceway and lost a chance of getting a good haul of points while they weren't aggressive enough in the Sunday race on the Gold Coast where McLaughlin managed to jump them and take an unlikely win.

His big moment of failure came yesterday has he battled the Nissan of Michael Caruso on the opening lap. A small amount of contact was enough to damage the steering on the Holden and a corner or two later he was into the wall and essentially out of commission.

While his team repaired the car and got it out to bank some consolation points – Whincup now needs to rely on McLaughlin having an issue in the last race of the year if he is to claim a record seventh championship.