'100 metres short': Phillip Island's most dramatic finish

As you read this while drinking your morning coffee, consider this.

Realistically, the only thing that stood between Garth Tander and an Island victory was how much liquid is in your mug.

The final race of the 2014 at Phillip Island, where the championship will head in October, was settled on the pit straight in the most dramatic sequence of events.

So certain was Tander’s victory, it seemed, that commentator Neil Crompton was setting up the winning call before Tander had rounded the final corner.

Crompton took an eye off the action, and in a split second, Scott McLaughlin sailed past Tander with metres remaining to steal victory.

"So final turn now, car number two Garth Tander, Bathurst champion of years gone by - oh he’s in trouble, he’s run out of fuel!" Crompton called.

"He’s run out of fuel! You cannot… I was setting up to talk about Tander, and the opposite has applied!

"Scott McLaughlin has won this race! Scott McLaughlin and Volvo have snatched it!

McLaughlin hounds Tander

"They snatched it with 100 metres to go! They’re gutted at the Holden Racing Team!"

HRT crew members were stunned on the pit wall and slowly pulled away in shock, their man missing out after a brilliant drive.

A day earlier, Jamie Whincup clinched his sixth drivers’ title in the afternoon race, McLaughlin winning earlier in the day to help Volvo and Garry Rogers Motorsport to victory.

Prior to Whincup’s record-breaking win, a 21-year-old McLaughlin held off Lowndes and Whincup to win the sprint.

The HRT crew celebrates, but McLaughlin snatches the win

McLaughlin jumped pole-sitter Whincup to take the lead into the first corner from second on the grid.

Tander jumped McLaughlin in the pits as the latter took what proved to be a vital extra amount of fuel.

Tander, who won his maiden title in 2007 at Phillip Island, was hounded by McLaughlin in the closing 10 laps.

McLaughlin tried and failed to force Tander into a mistake, with the unflappable Tander giving nothing away.

A win that fell from the heavens

Tander had driven a masterful race and looked the part of the driver who had claimed over 50 race wins. He withstood the pressure from McLaughlin, and looked like a sure thing when the Kiwi made an error with three laps to go.

Out of the final corner, Tander readied to salute the chequered flag. His team clambered over the pit wall to celebrate their man.

The #2 Commodore coughed, Tander swerved to get the remaining fuel to keep his car going, and McLaughlin sailed through for victory.

The end margin was just 0.45s, with McLaughlin shocked as he crossed the line.

'I’m so pumped right now but I feel for Garth'

"Oh my god, what the hell just happened!" McLaughlin exclaimed over team radio.

"It’s hard,” an elated McLaughlin said afterwards.

"I’m so pumped right now but I feel for Garth. He drove an awesome race.

"That’s all I had, and if it wasn’t for that he would’ve won the race."

For Tander, it was a great drive without the biggest prize, with the veteran admitting his team had simply got the fuel consumption numbers wrong.

'That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes'

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes," Tander said.

"I can’t thank our guys enough, they did a fantastic job.

"We weren’t thinking this was going to be one of our strong tracks this year, but the guys did an awesome job in the lead up, the car was fantastic yesterday.

"We just came up about 100 metres short."

Ticketing information for the Bunnings Trade Phillip Island SuperSprint will be available over coming days.