The season has seen a number of ups and downs and leader changes, but Lowndes and Whincup have always been the serious contenders.
"Having a 140-point lead is not that much at all," said Whincup. "Especially with my team-mate Lowndes there and he's in good form at the moment ... I think it's going to be a great battle right to the end. There are no issues between Craig and me and I hope we can keep it professional and race hard right to the end."
This weekend's race in Tasmania heralds a hectic finish to the year, with three separate events in four weeks.
Lowndes doesn't mind playing the hunter and will be prepared to pull out all the stops in an effort to stay in touch, if not overtake, Whincup for the championship lead at the end of the weekend.
"It's one of those things that if we can win as many races as possible, that will be the ultimate thing really for me," said Lowndes.
"Bathurst was a good indication that I'm not going to win it or bin it, so we'll just do the best we can on track. The team's been operating the same as it always has been and there's never been any stress about that side of it. For Jamie it might be a new circumstance [team-mates fighting it out for the championship], but I've been in the situation before, having great inter-team rivalries."
It's the 39th time the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars has visited Symmons Plains, and only Sandown in Melbourne (which will host its 42nd event next week) has hosted the ATCC/V8SC more often.
The track produces short but fast laps and the hairpin turn four and left-hander at the end of the back straight are the two best passing places. Brakes get a good workout, being hammered twice in a matter of 30 seconds. Heavy banking at the hairpin, one of the slowest corners in the series, allows the cars to set themselves up for a good launch on to the straight.
Fast facts
* Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon driver Winterbottom is at home with his tail feathers up after snapping a near 12-month winning drought on the Gold Coast. He outscored all other drivers across Bathurst and the Gold Coast, scooping 519 points from the three races - 147 more than championship leader Whincup and 201 more than rival Van Gisbergen.
* The TeamVodafone pair of Whincup and Lowndes could be the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the championship since Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall did it for Stone Brothers Racing in 2004.
* Pepsi Max Crew's Greg Murphy is another driver - like Winterbottom - coming home with major momentum in the second half of the series. The four-time Bathurst winner has scored more points than any driver in the field bar Winterbottom across the Bathurst and Gold Coast events (Winterbottom 519 to Murphy's 480) and has closed to within three points of 10th-placed Jason Bright in the championship. Murphy has not finished in the top 10 in the V8 Supercars Championship since 2004, when he finished fourth for Kmart Racing.
* Holden sits just two race wins away from becoming the first manufacturer to reach 400 wins in the history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8 Supercars Championship. They have racked up 398 wins compared with Ford's 291.
There are two drivers who have dominated at Symmons Plains since 2005 - Tander and Whincup. Between them, they have won 12 of the 16 races, with Tander racking up seven wins and Whincup five.
Points tally
Drivers' Championship after race 22 of 28:
1. Jamie Whincup 2517 pts
2. Craig Lowndes 2374 pts
3. Shane van Gisbergen 2009 pts
4. Mark Winterbottom 1966 pts
5. Garth Tander 1956 pts
6. Will Davison 1847 pts
7. Rick Kelly 1845 pts
8. Lee Holdsworth 1590 pts
