Whincup wins to take title.
Team Voda🌠fone driver Jamie Whincup clinched the 2🐼008 V8 Supercar Championship in style by winning the first race of the weekend at Oran Park.
Whincup, who held a healthy lead over Mark Winterbottom going into the weekend, needed to finish in the top six to lift the crown but 🌊took the win ahead of team-mate Craig Lowndes as Team Vodafone also lifted the teams' title.
Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander, who started the race on pole, was deemed to have jump﷽ed the start and was handed a ten-second penalty, which he servedꦓ on top of his compulsory pit stop.
Team Vodafone driver Jamiꦦeꦦ Whincup clinched the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship in style by winning the first race of the weekend at Oran Park.
Whincup, who held a healthy lead over Mark Winterbottom going into the weekend, needed to finish in the top six to lift the crown but took the win ahead of team-mate Cra༒ig Lowndes as Team Vodafone also lifted the teams' title.
Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander, who start🗹ed the race on pole, was deemed to have jumped the start 🌞and was handed a ten-second penalty, which he served on top of his compulsory pit stop.
Before Tander was told of his penalty however, he and Whincup swapped the lead in the first few cor♑ners.
🍸Whincup came off second best, and he late𒀰r admitted that he probably shouldn't have done it but couldn't resist the chance to fight for the lead.
Tander's penalty dropped him down the race order, leaving Whincup to lead for the second half of the race and he duly secured the crown in the best possible w💙ay.
"I don't cry, I'm a racing driver and an Aussie bloke,"😼 he said🌳. "We don't cry.
"The feeling is as good as I imagined. Over the last two weeks people were telling me it was 🃏going to happen, but to f🍰inally get over the line is unbelievable."
Lowndes finished second ahead of Super🍌cheap Auto Racing's Russell Ingall - taking tꦛhe place on lap 39.
Elsewhere, Tander's team-mate Mark Skaife, who retires from fullt🥀ime driving at the end of this round, clashed with Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom in pitlane during their pit stops.
The incident bent the steering arm of Winterbottom's cꦍar and also d🦩amaged Skaife's car, forcing them both into their pit garage.
Both drivers ended up gettin🧔g their cars back out for the race, but Winterbottom's run at Oran Park went from bad to worse as he was given a ten-second pit lane penalty for the incident and for selecting reverse gear in pit lane.
But Tander, who returned to the race in 11th spot after serving his penalty fo𒁏r jumping the start, managed to claw his way back to finish the race in sixth.
