The van Gisbergen streak on the line in Newcastle

The gruelling 250km races at the Thrifty Newcastle 500 are standing in the way of Shane van Gisbergen's long race finishing streak.

Van Gisbergen has finished 73 consecutive races since he retired from a Townsville race due to a power steering failure in 2020.

The reigning champion and Mark Winterbottom are the only drivers to be on a finish streak dating back to 2020.

Newcastle's 2.61km circuit is as brutal as they come, and they will test the drivers and their new Gen3 cars.

Only one race in Newcastle, the 2018 Sunday race, has seen all cars take the chequered flag.

Van Gisbergen, Scott Pye and David Reynolds are the only three active drivers to have completed every racing lap in Newcastle.

Street circuits often lead to high attrition rates, with Surfers Paradise and Adelaide closing out the 2022 season in dramatic fashion.

Nine drivers on the 2023 grid suffered at least one DNF in the final four races across the Gold Coast and Adelaide events.

In fact, 2022 was a bruising one for DNFs, and just five full-time 2023 drivers (disregarding 2023 rookies) finished all 34 races last season.

Van Gisbergen, Winterbottom, Cam Waters, Chaz Mostert and Brodie Kostecki saw the chequered flag in all races last year.

Van Gisbergen's run nearly ended on the Adelaide streets after he first clashed with Mostert, before crashing on his own late on.

Mostert is also on an impressive 18-race streak of top 10 finishes.

Can the likes of van Gisbergen and Mostert keep their streaks alive, or will they be stung in Newcastle?

Find out at the Thrifty Newcastle 500. Tickets are on sale now.

Longest finishing streaks (2023 full-time drivers)