CRAIG Lowndes is the hot favourite for a podium finish at this weekend's Coates Hire Ipswich 360.
The three-time V8 Supercars champion has won the past five races straight in Ipswich, clean-sweeping three races in 2011 and another two last year.
He's finished in the top two in seven of the past eight races at Queensland Raceway since 2009 and has 11 career race wins at the circuit - more than any other driver.
The showdown for the 2013 Australian V8 Supercar Championships continues when the Coates Hire Ipswich 360 fires up at Queensland Raceway tomorrow through to Sunday.
It's shaping up to be an unforgettable weekend of high-octane action as the V8 Supercar stars line up to gain serious points in the championship.
Petrol heads turned out in their thousands to welcome the V8 Supercar teams as they made a spectacular entrance into town yesterday in the Transporter Parade.
Fans met their favourite drivers when they made a pit stop at Coates Hire Ipswich store at Churchill.
But the big event Holden and Ford fans are eagerly awaiting is race 22-24 of the Australian V8 Supercar Championships, which green-lights on Saturday at 3.40pm.
The next generation of V8 Supercars will take on the new sprint format at the Queensland Raceway, dubbed the Paperclip, for the first time in Queensland.
Ford flyer Will Davison, who won at Ipswich for the Holden Racing Team in 2009, will be among 26 other drivers vying to defeat Craig Lowndes in his Triple Eight Commodore who has taken five victories in a row at the circuit.
Davison said the unpredictable performance variations brought to the category by Car of the Future, the all soft-tyre sprint-race format of the Coates Hire Ipswich 360 and a limited 20-tyre bank were signs that Lowndes may be beatable.
"I am expecting quite a lot of competitive cars there," he said.
"Having a car that is good on the tyres in the 100km races on the Sunday is crucial. I think it will be really interesting to see whether we pit or not.
"We have obviously gone through a lot of different strategy options … and we have a very limited tyre bank so how you manage those tyres will be interesting."
Davison has scored 1376 points in the 2013 championship. He trails leader Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Racing Australia Holden Commodore VF) by 215 points and Lowndes (Red Bull) by 104.
After a strong 2-4 Townsville result, Davison's teammate, Mark Winterbottom, has jumped into fourth in the championship on 1337 after earning the most points of anyone in the field at the Sucrogen Townsville 400.
There are 300 points up for grabs this weekend across the three races. Support races will include the Dunlop Series, Touring Car Masters, Formula Ford and Aussie Racing Cars.
There will be entertainment for the whole family with aerial displays by Australia's top gun, Matt Hall, Team Army shows, Air Force Super Hornet flyover, Shannons auto show, car club displays, Team Bray Racing with their supercharged burn-out machines and the University of Queensland's Formula SAE team.
Treat the kids to plenty of action on track and off with the new Disney-Pixar Fun Zone, including Mack the transporter, Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Monsters University. Kids 12 and under receive free general admission with a paying adult.
Find and Booking Ipswich Hotel Accommodation at Metro Hotel Ipswich International
.jpg)