Will Brown is a Supercars champion after sealing one of the most consistent seasons in the competition's history with a hard-fought podium at the Adelaide 500.
Brown's Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney claimed race honours on the Adelaide street circuit on Saturday, but Brown's second-place finish gave him an unassailable 168-point lead at the top of the championship standings with one race to run.
With only 150 points left up for grabs from the final race of the season on Sunday, Brown can finally rest easy, having led the competition since race four.
"I don't think it's sunk in just yet," Brown said.
"It's really exciting and I'm over the moon. I've been working towards this for a long time now, and to join Red Bull Ampol Racing this year and win with them in my first year is fantastic."
The 26-year-old repaid his team's faith in picking him to replace three-time champion Shane van Gisbergen, who decamped for Nascar in the US in the off season.
The result meant Brown has managed to podium in every round of the season - the first driver to achieve the feat in four decades.
"I didn't probably think that would have been possible this year, so that's been amazing," Brown said.
Feeney had another flawless race to snag his sixth win of the season - the most in the competition - but it wasn't enough to keep his championship hopes alive.
"The goal was always to try and win the championship, no matter who you're going against, but Will's raised the bar again this year," Feeney said.
"He's pushed me to another level, which has been really exciting, and I'm looking forward to many more years to come."
In fourth place and needing third or better to seal the title with Feeney leading, Brown overtook Thomas Randle with 22 laps to go.
He then passed Waters with 12 laps left and held on until the chequered flag.
Waters held off a fast-finishing Matt Payne - the reigning Adelaide 500 champion - to claim third spot.
Tickford duo Waters and Randle started in the front row of an unusual grid after a bizarre trio of crashes from Richie Stanaway, Cam Hill and David Reynolds cut qualifying short on Friday.
Third in the competition standings, Chaz Mostert was unable to complete a consequential lap in the session and as a result started near the back of the grid.
Dale Wood was a last-minute replacement in the No.26 Camaro for Stanaway, who withdrew from the race with delayed-onset concussion symptoms.
Cooper Murray was also a late sub in for Erebus after Jack Le Brocq pulled out to attend the birth of his first child.
Murray, who will be elevated to full-time driving in 2025, had a shocker of a race, pitting twice for repairs to a flapping front guard, before copping 30 seconds worth of penalties for driving infringements.
One infringement was for shunting veteran driver Mark Winterbottom in his second-last race as a full-time driver, resulting in "Frosty" spinning out and plunging down the grid.Â
Last year's champion Brodie Kostecki continued his impressive end to the season, improving from 11th to sixth.Â
His title defence was ended early after missing the first six races following a spat with Erebus management.
Triple Eight had already claimed the teams championship, with an unassailable 1258-point lead over Tickford before the race.
Drivers will only have race honours to compete for on Sunday - the last dead rubber to be played out before the competition moves to a finals series in 2025.
RACE 27 RESULTS:
1. Broc Feeney (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
2. Will Brown (Triple Eight Race Engineering)
3. Cam Waters (Tickford Racing)
4. Matt Payne (Grove Racing)
5. Thomas Randle (Tickford Racing)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1. Will Brown - 2910 pts
2. Broc Feeney - 2742 ptsÂ
3. Chaz Mostert - 2529 pts
4. Cam Waters - 2473 pts
5. Matt Payne - 1983 pts
