Shane van Gisbergen is out to spoil Jamie Whincup’s party, outpacing V8 Supercars’ champion-elect in qualifying ahead of the season’s final race.

The Kiwi scored provisional pole position for Sunday’s 250km feature at the Sydney 500, 0.34secs clear of fellow Holden driver Garth Tander and Whincup in third.

The trio, along with Ford’s David Reynolds, Mark Winterbottom, Scott Pye, Chaz Mostert, Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin, Rick Kelly of Nissan and Holden’s James Courtney, will battle it out for the top 10 grid positions in a shootout from 1.30pm (AEDT).

If McLaughlin qualifies fastest, it will be his 10th pole this season – matching current leader Whincup.

While Whincup wrapped up the 2014 championship last round in Phillip Island, he’ll have to wait until after Sunday’s race to officially claim the title.

It will be his sixth crown in seven years – a feat no other driver has achieved in Australian touring car history.

To mark the milestone, the Red Bull Racing star has donned a special gold helmet.

A podium finish on Sunday will also see him break teammate Craig Lowndes’ record tally of 135.

Lowndes, who’s driving with suspected broken ribs after a heavy shunt during Saturday practice, missed out on the Top 10 Shootout and will start the race from 18th.

Marcos Ambrose, back in a V8 Supercar after a nine-year stint in America’s NASCAR, qualified 23rd.

Sunday’s season-ending race begins at 3.40pm – and it could be a wet affair, with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon.