Will Davison rode his luck to claim his first V8 Supercars race win of the season and the championship lead at Symmons Plains.
Shane van Gisbergen looked to have done enough to claim a second win in as many days on Sunday, only to fall victim to an oil spill four laps from the chequered flag.
The New Zealander lost control in the slick and beached his Red Bull Commodore in the gravel, allowing Davison and the fellow Holden driver Craig Lowndes to swoop past.
Mark Winterbottom, who was second, recovered from a near-miss to fill out the podium for Sunday’s 200km race.
Van Gisbergen frantically spun his wheels to try and break free but the damage was done, joining five other drivers to record a DNF at the Tasmanian circuit.
Perhaps it was meant to be for Davison, who secured his first win since returning to Holden with Tekno Autosports after he was earlier stripped of a pole and demoted two spots on the grid by race officials for inadvertently blocking James Courtney’s fast lap.
As the race wound down he turned fourth placing into a victory, watching the front two spin out and manoeuvring past Lowndes on a fateful corner to steal a memorable win.
“It’s funny the way things work,” said Davison said after spraying the champagne.
“Blown away by the way that finished.
“I was driving around thinking a podium would be great.
“It’s never over until it’s over. The car came alive.”
Davison’s win ended three years of Red Bull victories in Tasmania.
Even without the late antics, the hairpin turn synonymous with the circuit threw up plenty of curveballs.
The bruising contest began from the line when van Gisbergen and Winterbottom started a battle that would last 80 laps.
Chris Pither’s dangerous crash changed the race, the Ford driver spearing off the track from the hairpin turn four after tagging the wall and wearing a bump from Nick Percat.
Had the accident occurred slightly closer to turn, three marshalls with minimal protection would have been in harm’s way.
Whincup was forced to double stack under the yellow flag; the start of a disastrous run for the six-time champion.
He would understeer into the gravel at the hairpin, bringing another safety car.
The slick that ruined van Gisbergen’s day also claimed Whincup’s Commodore as he careered into Andrew Heimgartner’s already-stranded Holden.
“That hairpin wasn’t kind to me,” Whincup said.
“The first was one a rookie error. I should give myself an uppercut.
“To have two quick cars … and to have no result. It’s unbelievable.”
V8 SUPERCARS RACE FIVE RESULTS
1. Will Davison (Holden)
2. Craig Lowndes (Holden)
3. Mark Winterbottom (Ford)
4. Scott McLaughlin (Volvo)
5. Chaz Mostert (Ford)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Will Davison (Holden) – 417
2. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 402
3. Jamie Whincup (Holden) – 393
4. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) – 378
5. Garth Tander (Holden) – 361
