Scott McLaughlin has grabbed pole position for Saturday's crucial Supercars race in Newcastle, giving him a golden opportunity to claw back ground on championship leader Jamie Whincup.
The Ford gun scorched the brand-new street circuit in one minute and 9.9065 seconds in another display of superior qualifying speed to set up his 15th start from pole this season.
Holden's six-time championship winner Jamie Whincup, who leads the overall standings by 30 points, qualified fifth fastest, less than a tenth of a second behind McLaughlin.
"This weekend is the most important of the year and obviously to get pole and be in this position is fantastic," McLaughlin said,
"It's going to be a tough track to pass and there's going to be a lot of strategy, but I'm sure people behind us will come at us pretty hard.