Todd Kelly victorious in race three

Kelly led the way after the pit stops, but couldn't shake Bright, who had a couple of lunges in the closing laps but couldn't get through.

After struggling in race one, a third place for Craig Lowndes seemed an impossibility this weekend, but improvements (and a little luck) saw it happen in race three.

Part of that luck involved Garth Tander, who took a comfortable lead at the start, but it was only temporary, Tander having moved before the lights went out. A drive-through penalty quickly followed, but a superb recovery drive saw him finish in eighth.

His teammate Rick Kelly put his race two troubles behind him, and a decision to run long before his compulsory pit stop paid off, vaulting him from 28th at the start to fifth at the finish.

Almost as impressive was Mark Skaife's race, moving from 19th to ninth on the opening lap (thanks partly to some mayhem at the start) to finish the race in fourth place.

A pair of Fords struck trouble while running strongly: Mark Winterbottom was running second and was about to inherit the lead when gearbox problems struck, finishing 27th, while Jamie Whincup was just behind Craig Lowndes and set for a top-five finish when an engine failure ended his day.

For the round, Jason Bright won overall ahead of Todd Kelly and Garth Tander, Tander's jump start almost certainly costing him the overall round win.

With just one round to go in this year's championship in two weeks' time at Phillip Island, the title fight is finely poised. Rick Kelly retains the lead, but is only seven points ahead of Craig Lowndes.

Mark Winterbottom's race three troubles mean that he is 276 points behind Kelly. With 321 points available, he still has a mathematical chance, but is likely to be eliminated from the championship running after the first race at the Island.

Garth Tander's slim title hopes were extinguished thanks to his own penalty and teammate Rick Kelly's impressive recovery.

Pos  Driver                   Car
 1.  Todd Kelly               Holden Commodore VZ
 2.  Jason Bright             Ford Falcon BA
 3.  Craig Lowndes            Ford Falcon BA
 4.  Mark Skaife              Holden Commodore VZ
 5.  Rick Kelly               Holden Commodore VZ
 6.  Steven Johnson           Ford Falcon BA
 7.  James Courtney           Ford Falcon BA
 8.  Garth Tander             Holden Commodore VZ
 9.  Cameron McConville       Holden Commodore VZ
10.  Russell Ingall           Ford Falcon BA
11.  Steven Richards          Holden Commodore VZ
12.  Greg Murphy              Holden Commodore VZ
13.  Steve Owen               Holden Commodore VZ
14.  Paul Dumbrell            Holden Commodore VZ
15.  Paul Morris              Holden Commodore VZ
16.  Marcus Marshall          Ford Falcon BA
17.  Dean Canto               Holden Commodore VZ
18.  John Bowe                Ford Falcon BA
19.  Brad Jones               Ford Falcon BA
20.  Andrew Jones             Holden Commodore VZ
21.  Warren Luff              Ford Falcon BA
22.  Jason Bargwanna          Ford Falcon BA
23.  Chris Pither             Holden Commodore VZ
24.  Max Wilson               Ford Falcon BA
25.  Jose Fernandez           Ford Falcon BA
26.  Lee Holdsworth           Holden Commodore VZ
27.  Mark Winterbottom        Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Will Davison             Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Jamie Whincup            Ford Falcon BA
DNF  Jason Richards           Holden Commodore VZ