Justin Ruggier has won his maiden Aussie Racing Cars title after coming second in the series finale during the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.
Ruggier went into the final round holding a slim three-point lead over Kel Treseder after winning the first four rounds of the season, and only needed to finish within three positions of his title rival to take out the series.
Treseder on the other hand had put himself back in contention after winning the series’ previous round on the Gold Coast, with Ruggier in 10th, bridging the outright points gap by nine points and setting up an epic season finale in Newcastle.
Holding four races as a support category during the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship’s round, it was reigning series winner Joel Heinrich who got off to the best start, picking the first race win ahead of Treseder in second and Ruggier in third.
However, Heinrich’s fall down the order in the second race opened up the door for Treseder who went on to win the remaining three races of the weekend, piling the pressure on the series leader in the process.
Click here to view the outright standings.
Ruggier found himself in a weekend-long battle with Nick Simmons, with the latter finishing ahead in both the second and fourth races, only for his fourth place in the third race ultimately costing him an outright runner-up finish.
Ruggier’s third race runner-up was enough to seal second place outright, just one point ahead of Simmons who rounded out the round podium.
Despite Simmons almost edging out Ruggier for the round win, the result wouldn’t have harmed Ruggier’s title hopes with the Mustang driver comfortably ahead Reece Chapman and Craig Woods who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Following the victory, Ruggier was just relieved to finally seal the elusive title.
"It's a massive relief for to win for the Western Sydney Motorsport Team. The team have been in the series for five years and I've been apart of it since 2017," Ruggier said.
"We only had one mechanical issues this year which was great. To win is just unreal and to give back to Simone and Craig Thompson, who own the team, as well as a my family. It's really good to win another national title.
"I think after the Gold Coast when I snapped that axel, my heart stopped, but when it came to Newcastle I just raced carefully and made sure I didn't get into trouble. But Kel winning certainly didn't help.
"It's been a great season and the racing we have produced for fans as a whole category has been fantastic. On top of the title, putting on a great spectacle for the fans is really satisfying."
In sixth place, Masters Cup winner Leigh Bowler enjoyed his final race for the year, while an eighth place to Jonathan Bloxsom all but sealed the Gold Cup over Craig Thompson.
In the category’s other trophies, Charlotte Poynting was officially deemed the winner of the Ladies Trophy and Kody Garland secured the 2019 Rookie of the Year award.
The Aussie Racing Cars Series will return in 2020 with its opening round to take place as a support category for the Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama on 31 January to 2 February.