Stone Brothers Racing have Alex Davison/David Brabham and the Kiwi pairing of Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre. Jack Daniel's Racing will put out Rick and Todd Kelly, while TeamVodafone have Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife (last year's champions).
Bundaberg Racing have another Kiwi pair in Fabian Coulthard/Craig Baird, with The Bottle-O Racing Team fielding Paul Dumbrell/Dean Canto. The two remaining teams are Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing, with Karl Reindler/David Wall, and Triple F Racing, with Dean Fiore/Michael Patrizi.
But all eyes will be on series leader Jamie Whincup (and co-driver Andrew Thompson) who had his championship lead slashed by teammate Lowndes at their last hit-out at the Ipswich 300 back in August. Lowndes won all three races over the weekend to close the points gap to 98 points, with Van Gisbergen a further 295 points behind in third place.
Whincup has been dominant at Phillip Island but has not always ended races in glory. He's finished inside the top three in every race there since 2007, except last year's 29th place because of mechanical issues, but is yet to win the main race. Whincup has an enviable record in the sprint races with three wins, four second places and two third places, yet these have not translated to the race on Sunday.
Whincup's Vodafone teammate Lowndes, on the other hand, won last year's event with Skaife, with whom he's driving again this weekend.
To make things even more ominous for the championship leader, with his teammate now breathing down his neck, Lowndes is the only driver to finish on the podium in every year of the new format. He took second in 2008 and 2009 and the win last year.
"We had a great weekend at Queensland Raceway and we always seem to go well at this time of year," said Lowndes. "People have been talking about how long it's been since I won a race and the best way of getting a win, I suppose, is by getting a clean sweep.
"We're now within 100 points of Jamie [Whincup] and for me it was a fantastic weekend to be able to do that. ... Races like [endurance rounds at Phillip Island, Bathurst and the Gold Coast] I really, really love, and we're in a good position at the moment."
The Kelly brothers, Rick and Todd, have dominated the Saturday grid sprints at the L&H 500 each year since the event was first held in 2008.
Kelly Racing has improved steadily this year and the brothers have won a sprint race each year - Rick in 2008 and 2010, and Todd in 2009. But neither has managed to stand on the podium Sunday afternoon.
The pole-sitter has never won the race, however Garth Tander and Skaife managed to win from 10th on the grid in 2008. Last year, 20 cars were on the lead lap at the finish, so expect much the same this time.
Quirks of qualifying
Qualifying and racing on Saturday is unique to the L&H 500, with the prospect that the winners of the 113-lap endurance race on Sunday may not score the most points for the weekend.
Each driver will take part in his own qualifying session and sprint event on Saturday. Teams can nominate which of the drivers competes in which of the sprints. One driver has to perform a compulsory pit stop in their Saturday race for at least two tyres to be changed.
Fifty championship points will be awarded to the winner of each Saturday sprint, with the combined points earned by both drivers from each car going towards the championship points tally of the main game driver.
The combined score will determine the grid for the L&H 500, with both drivers credited with a pole position in V8 Supercars Championship record books.
The winner of the main race on Sunday will get 200 points, making a total of 300 points available from racing on both days.
Facts and figures
Qualifying record: Craig Lowndes, 2000 - 1m 32.0713s
Lap record: Craig Lowndes, 1999 - 1m 33.4389s
Tyres: 28 new hard tyres, 12 pre-marked tyres
Points:
1 Jamie Whincup (TeamVodafone), 1895
2 Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone), 1797
3 Shane van Gisbergen, (SP Tools Racing), 1502
4 Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel's Racing), 1418
5 Steven Johnson (Jim Beam Racing), 1345
6 Garth Tander (Toll HRT), 1321
7 Mark Winterbottom (Orrcon Steel FPR), 1321
8 Will Davison (Trading Post FPR), 1302
9 Alex Davison (IRWIN Racing), 1255
10 Lee Holdsworth (Fujitsu Racing/GRM), 1140
