How McLaughlin set an unbeatable Perth record

Just four times in Perth Supercars history has a race been won from outside the top 10.

In 2018, Scott McLaughlin set a new benchmark that will take some beating.

The venue of the upcoming Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight, Wanneroo Raceway, is just 2.4km in length.

McLaughlin’s charge to a fourth straight win in his title year of 2018 caught everyone off-guard.

The DJR Team Penske driver, who was starting towards the back, found himself in the lead with a third of the 83-lap race remaining.

McLaughlin started 19th for the race, having failed to get out of the first phase of ARMOR ALL Qualifying.

To that point, McLaughlin had only won from beyond the first two rows of the grid once, from 13th on the Gold Coast in 2017.

Afterwards, he would never win a race from lower than fifth before he departed for the United States and IndyCar.

What made the race even more remarkable was Craig Lowndes, who raced from 25th to complete the podium.

So, how did McLaughlin win from 19th?

Several key runners fell by the wayside; pole man Shane van Gisbergen was slow away from pole, and was later stung by a double-stack.

The Safety Car was called after just four laps, with James Golding’s Commodore bogged at Turn 1 gravel.

All bar one car pitted; at the time of the Safety Car, McLaughlin was 12th, having avoided trouble at Turn 5 on the opening lap.

McLaughlin gained several places in pit lane, and was well in contention on the restart.

Erstwhile leader Jamie Whincup stopped on lap 26; Chaz Mostert lost time in the lane sue to a fuel-timer issue.

McLaughlin followed Mostert and Andre Heimgartner into the lane on lap 27.

He emerged ahead of Heimgartner and Whincup; David Reynolds stopped on lap 32, and was stung by an undercut.

Whincup’s early stop left him vulnerable to attack from behind; Reynolds was up to second by lap 48.

It all culminated into an easy lead for McLaughlin, who benefited from smart strategy and dramas from his rivals.

Even then, the pace of McLaughlin was there for all to see; the #17 Falcon was eight seconds up the road from Reynolds after the second stops.

McLaughlin made his third stop on lap 57, and Reynolds on lap 60. The margin between them was six seconds after the stops.

Reynolds closed the gap to 2.5s with six laps to go, but bowled a wide at the final corner on the last lap.

It helped McLaughlin sail to his unlikeliest victory by 7.9s. He would go on to win his first of three championships.

"I’m stoked. I couldn’t believe it,” McLaughlin said.

"These guys just gave me an unbelievable car and the strategy was on point.

"We made it difficult for ourselves but brought it back.

"I joked to DJ [Dick Johnson] before we went out and said ‘I reckon we can win this thing’.

"Sort of deep down I was like ‘maybe’, but I didn’t bloody think I was going to do it.”

McLaughlin’s win from 19th bettered the record previously held by legends Peter Brock and Larry Perkins, who both came from 12th to win in Perth.

Brock came from 12th twice to win in 1978; Perkins did it in 1997.

Can a new driver etch their name into the Perth history-books with a fightback win?

Find out at the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight later this month. Purchase your tickets now.