Three is the magic number as Supercars rolls into Melbourne's streets this week with championship leader Chaz Mostert set to race for a 300th time.
Mostert is hunting for his third podium from three races when festivities begin on Thursday - the first ever Supercars or Australian Touring Car Championship race to be held on that day.
Walkinshaw Andretti United's lead driver has a 45-point cushion atop the championship standings following consecutive runner-up placings in Newcastle's opening round just weeks ago.
Mostert will tick over 299 races on Thursday and bring up his career milestone on Friday, becoming the 30th driver to register 300 career starts.
"If you've been around for 10-plus years in a sport you love it's a pretty cool and rewarding achievement," Mostert told AAP.
"I'm just pumped to be here for 300 and I'd like to think about the next hundred after that and see how many hundreds we can get up to."
The 30-year-old is out to score wins in three consecutive trips to Albert Park after bagging one in 2019 and two out of 2022's four races.
He was the events overall winner in 2019 and scored a maiden win in his home state in 2017.
Mostert triumphed in four out of last year's 31 races and came from third on the grid to win in Melbourne's opening fixture last year.
Miraculously, all four races in 2022 around Albert Park were won from the third starting position.
But there will be no shoulder-rubbing with Formula One drivers as their season continues in Melbourne due to the intense schedule over four days, Mostert said.
"We're just a couple of Aussie bogans put in our own paddock," he quipped.
"They'll let the real stars have the nice areas."
One superstar that will be breathing down Mostert's neck is Triple Eight Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, as the Kiwi superstar looks to make amends from a dramatic season-opener in Steel City.
Two-time reigning Supercars champion van Gisbergen was sensationally disqualified from his team's opening one-two finish in Newcastle after Triple Eight Racing were found in breach of their vehicle's driver cooling systems.
The dynamite New Zealander responded in emphatic fashion winning race two convincingly before telling an intrigued press gallery his "driving did the talking" and elaborated no further.
Melbourne was the springboard for van Gisbergen's record-breaking calendar year in 2022, when he won 21 races and four from his first five starts.
He climbed 20 spots in Albert Park's opener last year for a podium finish before going on to win the next two races and the full event.
Red Bull Ampol's rampaging Kiwi leads all drivers with nine career-race wins in Melbourne.
