Holden veteran Craig Lowndes is intent on pushing into the Supercars top five with a win in Townsville, one of two tracks where he is yet to taste success.

Buoyed by an improved last-round showing in Darwin, Lowndes is confident he is in a better position to get himself back on the podium in next week’s north Queensland meet.

With 105 career wins, Townsville and Pukekohe in New Zealand are the remaining venues he is yet to conquer.

“We were hoping that what we learnt and what we implemented for Darwin will translate to a good result here in Townsville,” Lowndes told AAP from Fox Sports’ Townsville 400 launch.

“It’s one of two tracks I haven’t stood on the top step so I’d really like to change that.”

Lowndes is sitting equal sixth alongside Ford’s Mark Winterbottom after six rounds, with his third-place finish in Tasmania his best result and sole podium for the season.

“Our aim is to get back in the top five of the championship,” Lowndes said.

“Once we hopefully establish that we can start focusing on the top three.”

After admitting they were “lost” in the fourth round at Winton, a test day before Darwin was crucial for Lowndes and engineer John “Irish” McGregor to get back on track.

The three-time champion has improved a whopping 48 places on the grid over his last five races, but qualifying continues to be an issue.

“To be honest qualifying for me my whole career has sort of been up and down – a bit of a yo-yo,” Lowndes said.

“We’re trying to rectify that and make sure we fix that for the second half of the season.

“I think our race craft and our race pace has definitely been good. It’s just a matter of getting qualifying right.”

The drivers will contend with Townsville’s hybrid part-street, part-parkland track and warm temperatures in next Friday’s practice before two 200km races on Saturday and Sunday.

“We bash over the kerbs as hard as we can and of course you need a good fast flowing car at this track,” Lowndes said.

“It is very challenging mentally, physically and mechanically.”