The pain of 2017 is serving as a key learning experience for runaway Supercars championship leader Scott McLaughlin.
The Shell V-Power ace had his maiden title all but wrapped up last year entering the final race.
But disaster struck the 24-year-old in Newcastle, leaving Jamie Whincup to snatch a record seventh championship in one of the most extraordinary finishes in Supercars history.
McLaughlin takes a 158-point lead into this weekend's sixth round at Winton Raceway in north-east Victoria.
The New Zealander is gunning for a historic fifth-straight race victory after claiming the double at Phillip Island and Perth.