One-lap gods and race aces: The kings of Townsville

The venue of this weekend's NTI Townsville 500 has been a primary stomping ground for three of Supercars' modern-day greats.

Jamie Whincup, Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin, all series champions, enjoyed great success in Townsville.

Only seven drivers have won races in North Queensland, and only 10 have recorded podiums finishes.

Whincup is the all-time wins leader in Townsville with 12 from 29 starts. 

The seven-time series champion boasts a brilliant record in Townsville; he has finished in the top 10 on 26 occasions, with 23 of them in the top five.

Whincup has led a staggering 522 laps in Townsville; three-time race winner Mark Winterbottom is next best on 212 laps.

However, Winterbottom hasn't led a race lap in Townsville since the Sunday in 2016, when he started on pole.

Townsville race wins by driver

12: Jamie Whincup5: Shane van Gisbergen4: Scott McLaughlin3: Mark Winterbottom, Garth Tander1: James Courtney, Will Davison

Holden has been the standout manufacturer in Townsville, winning 19 races to Ford's 10.

Ford won three of the first four races, before Holden won eight of the next nine.

Across last year's six races in the Townsville doubleheader, Triple Eight Commodores won four races, with McLaughlin sandwiched in between with two.

Notably, van Gisbergen won the Sunday finale in 2020 from 12th on the grid.

Townsville race wins by car

19: Holden10: Ford

Whincup's 20 podiums are also by far and away the most in Townsville, with van Gisbergen next best with 11.

Of the 10 podium finishers in Townsville, only Chaz Mostert, Fabian Coulthard, Cameron Waters are yet to win a race, all recording four podiums each.

Townsville race podiums by driver

20: Jamie Whincup11: Shane van Gisbergen10: Mark Winterbottom, Garth Tander9: Scott McLaughlin6: James Courtney5: Will Davison4: Chaz Mostert, Fabian Coulthard, Cameron Waters

McLaughlin is the pole king; he claimed his first of a record six poles aboard his Garry Rogers Motorsport Volvo in 2015, before winning three in a row across the 2017 and 2018 events.

It was on the Sunday in 2017 that McLaughlin his lap record for the third time in two days on the Reid Park circuit. The Kiwi clocked a 1:11.9908s flyer, a time which remains the benchmark in Townsville.

Townsville poles by driver

6: Scott McLaughlin5: Jamie Whincup4: Mark Winterbottom2: Shane van Gisbergen, David Reynolds1: Craig Lowndes, Fabian Coulthard, Garth Tander, James Courtney, Jason Bright, Lee Holdsworth, Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters, Nick Percat, Todd Hazelwood

Which drivers will add their names to the Townsville honour roll this weekend?

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship season will resume this weekend at the NTI Townsville 500. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo, and will be broadcast live and free on Seven.