Going into this final round of the AEC, which has also had 300-kilometre races conducted at Wakefield Park in March and Queensland Raceway in May, Nightingale and his Sydney co-driver Adam Dodd are in the running to win the championship, as they currently sit in third, 11 points behind Daniel Deckers/Luke Otten (Mazda MX5), who are equal with Mark Mackay/Justin Ruggier (Skelta G Force). 

It looked as if the Nightingale Motorsport team may have to forgo the chance to add an Australian title to their already impressive record due to budget restraints, until Inland Building & Construction, Stumpys on Stewart, Robinson Auto Repairs and RP Gold Smash Repairs stepped in to support the entry.

A record 65 entries have been received for this year’s championship grand finale, exceeding the circuit’s grid capacity of 50. As a result, event organisers have split the race into two parts: a “B-main” for cars qualifying in the slower divisions, followed by the main race for the outright contenders.

The championship is expected to go to one of the top three teams – Deckers/Luke Otten, Mackay/Ruggier or Nightingale/Dodd. Meanwhile, there are several other combinations focused purely on winning the race, including a large contingent of Mazda MX5s led by reigning Winton 300 winners Rob Hay/Nick Cancian. Also in the MX5 brigade are 2011 winners David Raddatz/Shane Otten and Formula Vee Champions Daniel Reynolds/Matt Stubbs.

If Ruggier was to take the championship win with Mackay, it would be his second national title in just over a week, as he wrapped up the 2014 Kumho Tyres V8 Touring Car Series on Sunday last.

Aiming to upset the MX5 applecart will be a collection of four Lotus Elise and Exige sports cars, which will be driven by Steve/Jake Shelley, John Prefontaine/Robert Hackwood, Glenn Townsend/Anthony Soole and Arthur Magaitis/Justin Levis.

Motorcycle-engined Future Racers are some of the most iconic cars to compete in the Winton 300 and there are three on the entry list this year, headed by Nathan Jess/Matthew Thompson, who have qualified on pole for the last two years.

Other outright contenders include the BMWs of Daniel Kapetanovic/Daniel Sugden and Phil Showers/Nathan Geier, Mazda RX7s of Gerry Murphy/Michael Caine and Adam Burgess/Josh Muggleton and Mitsubishi EVO IXs of Tim Brook/Gavin Holland and Martin Higgins/Ben Seehusen.

“We’ll be struggling to win outright in such a strong field, for our car is very standard and running on grooved tyres and not slicks like most others, so we may be able to pick up our division for championship points and then finish as high up in the top 10 as possible,” Nightingale said.

“Adam, who won his class in the 2013 Australian Manufacturers Championship, is keen to add this title to his tally, and we’re both keen to win the championship for TargaRacing. They’re a really great team and deserve it.

“I’ve got my own personal reasons to finish as high up as possible, because my Dad finished eighth in the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship after being as high as third coming into the Bathurst 1000.”

Practice and qualifying for the Winton 300 will be held today.