It began with the so-called 'Lap of the Gods' 2m06.9s lap in qualifying from Greg Murphy (that wouldn't be matched in the Top 10 Shootout for 14 years) and it ended in similar fashion as Murphy and Rick Kelly raced on to score a dominant victory in their Kmart Commodore.

It was the fifth victory in succession for Holden, and with Rick Kelly sharing the spoils, Kelly became the youngest driver to win the race, the previous mark having been set by Craig Lowndes in 1996.

On this day, Lowndes and co-driver Glenn Seton were second for Ford, ahead of the similar, Supercheap-backed car of Steven Ellery and Luke Youlden.