Rick Kelly wins race three

Kelly took the win after a slow pit stop ruined his teammate Garth Tander's chances of victory, two safety car periods also affecting the race, including one which left a car resting on its roof.

Behind Kelly at the end of the race, shortened due to time constraints, was Rick's brother Todd driving for Holden Racing Team and James Courtney in his Jeld-Wen Ford, delivering on the promise he showed in the middle of qualifying.

Rick Kelly also took the round victory ahead of teammate Tander, both scoring the same number of points at Pukekohe, the nod going in favour of Kelly because he scored the last win, even though Tander had scored two race wins to his one. Team Vodafone's Jamie Whincup, who finished race three in fifth behind teammate Craig Lowndes, completed the overall round top three.

The start of the race saw another lightning start from fourth on the grid, Todd Kelly this time moving to second by turn one, behind brother Rick.

Lap five and Courtney took fourth from Whincup at the hairpin, but a far more dramatic event was about to happen which brought out the safety car.

As Paul Morris and Brad Jones went side-by-side through the second-last turn of lap six, Jones' car kicked off the kerb and jumped sideways into Morris's Holden. Both cars spun towards the fence, Jones bouncing off the wall while Morris's car hit the wall and rolled one and a half times, coming to rest on its roof.

This brought out the safety car for several laps, Morris escaping virtually unhurt, before the race resumed on lap twelve.

Compulsory pit stops followed soon after, leader Garth Tander among several drivers to pit early. However, a slow pit stop cost him four positions at the time of the stop, which became eight when the stops were completed.

At the same time, a good stop for his teammate Rick Kelly moved him ahead in the battle he was having with brother Todd, which after Tander's misfortune was the battle for the lead.

Tander had recovered to eighth when another safety car period was called for after Dean Canto went into the wall at the final turn on lap 31.

While it was not nearly as dramatic as the earlier off for Morris, time spent recovering Canto's car along with that taken to do the same with Morris earlier in the event meant time literally was running out to complete the race.

The race returned to green, reduced from 43 laps to 36, meaning it was a one-lap dash to the chequered flag. However, not much happened despite the chance for drivers to make passing moves, the top ten unchanged as Rick Kelly took the win.

Kelly's win continues a Holden domination of race wins in 2007, Holden having won every race so far this season. In fact, apart from older brother Todd's win in the first race of the season, Toll HSV Dealer team has won every race this season as well.

A similar domination has occurred at Pukekohe over the years, the series having made its final visit to the venue before heading to Hamilton in 2008.

In seven years of racing at Pukekohe, Holden has taken the overall round victory every time, having scored 20 wins from 21 races, a race one victory for Marcos Ambrose in 2004 the only blot on the copybook for the General.

In the battle for this year's title, 2006 champion Rick Kelly leads with 173 points, thirteen ahead of teammate Garth Tander. 28 points further back is Rick's older brother Todd, with Mark Skaife and Jamie Whincup tied on 104 points, 28 points behind Todd.

Pos  Driver                Car                   Laps
 1.  Rick Kelly            Holden Commodore VE    36
 2.  Todd Kelly            Holden Commodore VE    36
 3.  James Courtney        Ford Falcon BF         36
 4.  Craig Lowndes         Ford Falcon BF         36
 5.  Jamie Whincup         Ford Falcon BF         36
 6.  Will Davison          Ford Falcon BF         36
 7.  Paul Radisich         Ford Falcon BF         36
 8.  Garth Tander          Holden Commodore VE    36
 9.  Mark Skaife           Holden Commodore VE    36
10.  Russell Ingall        Ford Falcon BF         36
11.  Mark Winterbottom     Ford Falcon BF         36
12.  Steven Richards       Ford Falcon BF         36
13.  Greg Murphy           Holden Commodore VE    36
14.  Max Wilson            Ford Falcon BF         36
15.  Cameron McConville    Holden Commodore VZ    36
16.  Steven Johnson        Ford Falcon BF         36
17.  Lee Holdsworth        Holden Commodore VZ    36
18.  Jason Richards        Holden Commodore VE    36
19.  Fabian Coulthard      Holden Commodore VZ    36
20.  Shane Price           Holden Commodore VE    36
21.  Steve Owen            Holden Commodore VZ    36
22.  Andrew Jones          Ford Falcon BF         36
23.  John Bowe             Ford Falcon BF         36
24.  Alan Gurr             Ford Falcon BF         36
25.  Jason Bright          Ford Falcon BF         35
DNF  Dean Canto            Holden Commodore VE    27
DNF  Paul Dumbrell         Holden Commodore VE    15
DNF  Brad Jones            Ford Falcon BF          6
DNF  Paul Morris           Holden Commodore VE     5