# 2017 Newcastle 500

The 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500 was a motor racing event for the Supercars Championship, held on the weekend of 24 to 26 November 2017. The event was held on the Newcastle Street Circuit in Newcastle East, New South Wales and consisted of two races, 250 kilometres in length. It was the fourteenth and final event in the 2017 Supercars Championship and hosted Races 25 and 26 of the season.
The event was the first running of the Newcastle 500, following the discontinuation of the Sydney 500 at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

## Background

Five drivers came into the final event of the series with a mathematical chance of securing the title, the highest number since 2005. The event offered a maximum of 300 points, 150 per race win. Jamie Whincup led the championship on 2850 points, 30 points ahead of Scott McLaughlin. McLaughlin's team-mate Fabian Coulthard sat third, 176 points behind Whincup. Chaz Mostert and Shane van Gisbergen were the other two drivers in the title fight, but both were over 250 points behind Whincup.
Taz Douglas replaced Jack Perkins at Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport.

## Report
### Practice

Practice summary :
| Session | Day | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap |
| Session | Day | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
| Practice 1 | Friday | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 1:10.1577 |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:09.5949 |
| Source: |||||||

### Race 25
#### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Time |
| 1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:09.9064 |
| 2 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.0098 |
| 3 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.0418 |
| 4 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.0586 |
| 5 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.0923 |
| 6 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.1241 |
| 7 | 19 | Will Davison | Tekno Autosports | Holden VF Commodore | +0.1420 |
| 8 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.1774 |
| 9 | 22 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.3143 |
| 10 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.3157 |
| 11 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.3292 |
| 12 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.3699 |
| 13 | 34 | James Moffat | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.3713 |
| 14 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.3835 |
| 15 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4333 |
| 16 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4572 |
| 17 | 02 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.5032 |
| 18 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden VF Commodore | +0.5235 |
| 19 | 6 | Cam Waters | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.5479 |
| 20 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.5949 |
| 21 | 99 | Dale Wood | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.5974 |
| 22 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.6975 |
| 23 | 3 | Aaren Russell | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +1.0462 |
| 24 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +1.1732 |
| 25 | 56 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | Ford FG X Falcon | +1.2089 |
| 26 | 62 | Taz Douglas | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +1.3401 |
| Source: ||||||

#### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 91 | 2:00:01.7051 | 1 | 150 |
| 2 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 91 | +2.4430 | 8 | 138 |
| 3 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +3.5060 | 15 | 129 |
| 4 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +4.1874 | 18 | 120 |
| 5 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +10.9000 | 2 | 111 |
| 6 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | 91 | +11.8228 | 10 | 102 |
| 7 | 02 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +12.9853 | 17 | 96 |
| 8 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +13.8657 | 12 | 90 |
| 9 | 19 | Will Davison | Tekno Autosports | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +14.3288 | 7 | 84 |
| 10 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 91 | +15.6008 | 6 | 78 |
| 11 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +17.5093 | 16 | 72 |
| 12 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +18.1966 | 24 | 69 |
| 13 | 6 | Cam Waters | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 91 | +18.6987 | 19 | 66 |
| 14 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 91 | +19.0794 | 4 | 63 |
| 15 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 91 | +21.3520 | 14 | 60 |
| 16 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +24.4358 | 3 | 57 |
| 17 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 89 | +2 Laps | 11 | 54 |
| 18 | 99 | Dale Wood | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 89 | +2 Laps | 21 | 51 |
| 19 | 22 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 88 | +3 Laps | 9 | 48 |
| 20 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 83 | +8 Laps | 22 | 45 |
| 21 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 78 | +13 Laps | 5 | 42 |
| Ret | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 62 | Accident damage | 20 | |
| Ret | 34 | James Moffat | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 54 | Accident | 13 | |
| Ret | 3 | Aaren Russell | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 31 | Accident | 23 | |
| Ret | 56 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | Ford FG X Falcon | 1 | Accident damage | 25 | |
| Ret | 62 | Taz Douglas | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 1 | Accident damage | 26 | |
| Source: |||||||||
* ^1 Shane van Gisbergen received a 15 second penalty for a driving infringement.

### Race 26
#### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Time |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:10.2009 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.0036 |
| 3 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.1266 |
| 4 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.1705 |
| 5 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.2052 |
| 6 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.2320 |
| 7 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.2416 |
| 8 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.3075 |
| 9 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.3270 |
| 10 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.3596 |
| 11 | 19 | Will Davison | Tekno Autosports | Holden VF Commodore | +0.3949 |
| 12 | 6 | Cam Waters | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.4323 |
| 13 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4390 |
| 14 | 34 | James Moffat | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4720 |
| 15 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4971 |
| 16 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.4974 |
| 17 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | +0.6723 |
| 18 | 02 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.7706 |
| 19 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +0.8185 |
| 20 | 56 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | Ford FG X Falcon | +0.8270 |
| 21 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +0.8280 |
| 22 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | +0.8506 |
| 23 | 99 | Dale Wood | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +1.0239 |
| 24 | 22 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | +1.1635 |
| 25 | 3 | Aaren Russell | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +1.4382 |
| 26 | 62 | Taz Douglas | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | +1.4502 |
| Source: ||||||

#### Top 10 Shootout

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:10.5211 | |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 1:10.5502 | +0.0290 |
| 3 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 1:10.6765 | +0.1554 |
| 4 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:10.8429 | +0.3217 |
| 5 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 1:10.8665 | +0.3453 |
| 6 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 1:10.9438 | +0.4226 |
| 7 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 1:11.0045 | +0.4834 |
| 8 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:11.0174 | +0.4963 |
| 9 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | 1:11.3532 | +0.8320 |
| 10 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 1:11.8448 | +1.3236 |
| Source: |||||||

#### Race

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | 2:00:09.8054 | 5 | 150 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +4.481 | 2 | 138 |
| 3 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +5.717 | 3 | 129 |
| 4 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 95 | +6.682 | 6 | 120 |
| 5 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 95 | +7.550 | 7 | 111 |
| 6 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +8.847 | 15 | 102 |
| 7 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 95 | +9.785 | 4 | 96 |
| 8 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +10.289 | 13 | 90 |
| 9 | 19 | Will Davison | Tekno Autosports | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +10.626 | 11 | 84 |
| 10 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 95 | +12.216 | 10 | 78 |
| 11 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +18.335 | 16 | 72 |
| 12 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +19.859 | 19 | 69 |
| 13 | 34 | James Moffat | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +23.269 | 14 | 66 |
| 14 | 02 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +23.792 | 18 | 63 |
| 15 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Rod Nash Racing | Ford FG X Falcon | 95 | +24.026 | 9 | 60 |
| 16 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +26.800 | 21 | 57 |
| 17 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan L33 Altima | 95 | +29.601 | 17 | 54 |
| 18 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 95 | +42.624 | 1 | 51 |
| 19 | 3 | Aaren Russell | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 95 | +45.225 | 25 | 48 |
| 20 | 99 | Dale Wood | Erebus Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 94 | +1 Lap | 23 | 45 |
| 21 | 62 | Taz Douglas | Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport | Holden VF Commodore | 94 | +1 Lap | 26 | 42 |
| 22 | 56 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | Ford FG X Falcon | 93 | +2 Laps | 20 | 39 |
| 23 | 6 | Cam Waters | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | 92 | +3 Laps | 12 | 36 |
| 24 | 22 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden VF Commodore | 91 | +4 Laps | 24 | 33 |
| Ret | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden VF Commodore | 93 | Accident | 22 | |
| Ret | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford FG X Falcon | 15 | Driveshaft | 8 | |
| Source: |||||||||
* ^1 Scott McLaughlin received a 25 second penalty for a driving infringement.

## Standings after the event

| Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Jamie Whincup | 3042 | |
| 2 | Scott McLaughlin | 3021 | +21 |
| 3 | Fabian Coulthard | 2812 | +230 |
| 4 | Shane van Gisbergen | 2769 | +273 |
| 5 | Chaz Mostert | 2748 | +294 |
| Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | DJR Team Penske | 5868 | |
| 2 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (88, 97) | 5811 | +57 |
| 3 | Prodrive Racing Australia | 4416 | +1452 |
| 4 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 3711 | +2157 |
| 5 | Erebus Motorsport | 3477 | +2391 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.