STANDING on the Bathurst 1000 podium alongside Supercars legend Craig Lowndes - that moment after the 2018 edition of the Great Race is one which carries both fond memories and disappointment for Scott Pye.
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As someone who had grown up watching Lowndes cut laps of the iconic 6.213 kilometre circuit, Pye knew it was a special moment to be on the dais with him.
Listening to the crowd cheer for Lowndes, who had won the Bathurst 1000 alongside Steve Richards, is something Pye will not soon forget.
But that moment was also one Pye remembers given he and co-driver Warren Luff had to settle for second place for the second year in a row. It was yet another occasion when he had fallen just short of laying his hands on the coveted Peter Brock Trophy.
"My first podium [in 2017] is for sure one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to do and it's a podium you've always wanted to experience," Pye said.
"One of the greatest experiences as well was standing alongside Craig when he won just because of the atmosphere and the crowd and standing beside a guy I grew up watching. I mean '94 was his first year, I was just a kid, I was four-years-old.
"So I'd grown up watching that guy and to stand beside him when the crowd is cheering and going as crazy as they were, I was second but it was a real bitter-sweet moment.
"Certainly I've come close finishing second twice, yeah some cool experiences but slightly frustrating at the same time, I'd love to win that race."
In the two years Pye placed second he steered Walkinshaw Holdens, but this season the 30-year-old races a Commodore for Team 18.
He's had three podiums and five top-five placings for his new team, placing third in Darwin three times, and ahead of the season-ending Bathurst finale sits 10th in the championship.
He is a chance of bettering his career-high seventh placing in the championship, but for Pye this Sunday his focus will be on winning the Bathurst 1000 alongside co-driver Dean Fiore and letting series points take care of themselves.
"The Bathurst 1000 is the most iconic race in the country, it's the one every driver wants to race and it's the one race that everyone stops to watch," he said.
"I've had some good success there in the past with a couple of podiums, but I definitely don't want to come second again, I'd love to go one step higher and go for the win.
"It would mean everything to cap off the season, especially this year with the way the championship finishes with it being our finale.
"To win this year's race would be even more special than in a regular season because its the finale.
"We would go home to a three/four month break winning the biggest race of the year and the last race we've been to."
