IT was the smartest move on a dramatic Saturday at Queensland Raceway.

A stunning pass by Shane van Gisbergen in the penultimate lap left Jamie Whincup stranded on 99 Supercars wins.

Whincup was just minutes from achieving the milestone after sneaking into the race lead on lap one.

But van Gisbergen was determined to spoil the party, diving at turn six and ultimately winning the 120km sprint by 0.82 seconds.

Queensland Raceway favourite Craig Lowndes was the first to challenge Whincup in the closing stages. However, a lock-up at turn four left him vulnerable to van Gisbergen.

Lowndes finished third in race 16 of this year's championship.

The result means another podium lock-out for Triple Eight, with team boss Roland Dane declaring they are all free to race despite tense images in both garages.

"We allow them to try and race but we've got different strategies and Jamie had the pick. Shane's was in the end better,'' Dane said.

"We had the Prodrive cars behind us who did a great job. Everyone else was nowhere.''

Van Gisbergen was thrilled to take his first victory at Queensland Raceway.

"It was a massive win for the team,'' the New Zealander said. "Not only did we get a one, two, three on the podium, but it was Triple Eight's 100th win with Holden.

"After claiming their 500th ATCC/VASC win at Symmons Plains, this one was icing on the cake.''

The start of Saturday's race was delayed after Cameron Waters suffered a driveline issue and stopped on track.

It capped off an action packed day marked by spectacular crashes including Scott Pye and a number of drivers in support categories. Pye was lucky to walk away unscathed after he crashed into a tyre wall after he suffered brake failure in practice.