Penalised: Shane van Gisbergen gets 25-second penalty, loses Saturday win

Supercars Championship officialdom have handed down a 25-second penalty to Shane van Gisbergen, after a botched third pit-stop in yesterday's Coates Hire Newcastle 500 opener. 

The stop came under close scrutiny following the race, with the announcement that it would come under investigation after footage showed van Gisbergen's car being lowered to the ground before the refueling nozzle had been removed. 

The rule exists for safety purposes to prevent the possibility of cars driving off while still connected to the fueling rig. 25 seconds is considered equal to a pit-lane penalty. 

This sees van Gisbergen drop to fifth in the finishing positions, with McLaughlin taking over first and David Reynolds, Jamie Whincup, and Scott Pye filling the revised top four. 

The swap means that McLaughlin now leads the championship by 53 points, instead of the mere two he had been leading by after yesterday's race. In a nutshell, this means that if van Gisbergen wins this afternoon's race, McLaughlin only needs to finish sixth to win a famous maiden title.