Whincup wins V8 Supercar championship

Ford driver Jamie Whincup has clinched the V8 Supercar championship in emphatic style with a comfortable victory in race one of the final round of this year's series. The 25-year-old Team Vodafone driver now holds an unassailable championship lead with two races remaining for the year.

It is Whincup's maiden championship and makes amends for his narrow defeat in the
2007 title, when he was beaten by two points by Holden's Garth Tander.
The only man who could beat Whincup for this year's title, Ford's Mark Winterbottom,
saw his slim chance evaporate in the pits early in the race.
The Ford driver made contact with Holden's Mark Skaife as he was trying to exit the
pit, damaging his Falcon.
Stewards then hit Winterbottom with a drive-through penalty and a 10-second time
penalty for his error, which was believed to have been caused in part by a radio
communication fault.
He finished last of the 23 cars to complete the race.
It also ruined any hope of a fairytale finish at Oran Park for the retiring Skaife,
who was left with steering damage and was unable to complete the race.
With race one finishing positions becoming grid positions for race two on Sunday,
Skaife will have to start from the back row of the grid as he competes in his last
two races before quitting fulltime V8 driving.
Whincup got off to a flying start from third position on the grid, managing to pass
pole-sitter Tander and Ford teammate Craig Lowndes to take the lead by the first
turn.
While Tander did manage to pass him on lap two, the Holden driver was hit with a
stop-go penalty - officials ruling he had jumped the start.
Whincup inherited the race lead, and was able to enjoy a pressure-free ride through
to the finish to secure the title.
Lowndes finished second in Saturday's opening race, with Holden's Russell Ingall third.
Earlier on Saturday, Holden driver Steve Owen sealed the second-tier Fujitsu
Development V8 championship with a top five finish in race two of the final round.