OPINION: Fact - Scott McLaughlin has so dominated the 2019 Supercars season that with three races left, he only needed to finish one inside the top 10.
The Kiwi did that at the Sandown 500 to claim a second consecutive title, albeit in a very subdued manner.
That reluctance to celebrate stemmed from a couple of factors. One - McLaughlin is humble and with two races to go in Newcastle, he still had a job to do for his team.
Two - McLaughlin's team, DJR Team Penske, were fined and the Kiwi was stripped of his Bathurst pole for a car irregularity, after the Top-10 Shootout at Mount Panorama.
That ruling came after a tumultuous month for McLaughlin. He was on cloud nine, after achieving his boyhood dream of a first Bathurst 1000 crown.
That race was wrapped in controversy, after Fabian Coulthard's go-slow with 30-odd laps left under the safety car. McLaughlin's race win stood, but the team were fined and teammate Coulthard was relegated to the final classification spot.
To top all that off, the 26-year-old had a horrific accident at the Gold Coast that ruled him out of the final race of that weekend.
Now, with the championship won, you would think McLaughlin could head into the final weekend of the season with the opportunity to relax and drive his heart out for an outfit desperate to win the teams' championship.
But no, McLaughlin is again subject to verbal and social media jabs from a few of his rivals on the Supercars grid.
McLaughlin's success clearly riles up some Australian diehards, who grew up idolising motorsport heroes like Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife - names that dominated championships the way McLaughlin has decimated his competitors for most of the last three seasons.
David Reynolds, Jamie Whincup, Scott Pye, Nick Percat and Triple Eight team boss Roland Dane have all had a serve at the Kiwi's title win, calling it "tainted", among other things.
The narrative appears to be that DJR Team Penske have cheated all season long and McLaughlin's feats have been tarnished. Rubbish.
Coulthard is evidence that this is simply a case of Australians annoyed at a New Zealander dominating a series that is as much a part of their culture as the Melbourne Cup or MCG Boxing Day cricket test.
Coulthard, a very capable and quick driver with 12 race wins, nine pole positions and 51 podium finishes in a 14-year career, is currently fourth in the standings - a mere 823 behind his teammate.
The Kiwi has just two race wins to his credit in 2019 with the same machinery that McLaughlin has scored 18 - a series record.
McLaughlin is just that much better than anyone in the field, including seven-time champion Whincup and fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen.
The much talked-about Mustang has been handicapped since race organisers decided it was too dominant and they needed parity. Well, where was that parity when Triple Eight won eight championships in 10 seasons.
Where was parity when Gibson Motorsport obliterated the competition for three straight years in the early 1990s?
Where was parity when the Holden Racing Team won five titles on the bounce from 1998-2002?
This bashing of McLaughlin is for one simple reason - he's not Australian. He's a 'sheep shagger', born in Christchurch, whose idol is Greg Murphy - not Lowndes or Brock.
If you swapped McLaughlin with, say, Chaz Mostert and the very talented Australian had cleaned up the opposition with a round to spare, there would not be the same backlash among his peers.
Percat has even compared McLaughlin to notorious cycling cheat Lance Armstrong - what a joke! Maybe Mr Percat should worry about keeping his car straight, rather than what the guys at the head of the field are doing.
McLaughlin can finish the season on a high at a track that has brought him the lowest of lows and the highest of highs this weekend - and show the paddock who is No.1 with a one-fingered salute.
But you see, McLaughlin is above that type of nonsense. He is dignified, something his rivals could well learn from.
Leave him alone.
Brad Lewis is a Newshub online sports producer.
