Chaz Mostert has got the bug - the $1000-cheque bug.
The Ford young gun caught it last round in Perth when he won the prize after scoring pole position for the first time in his V8 Supercars career, and is chasing another cheque - and pole - in Winton this weekend.
Just days after re-signing with Prodrive Racing Australia on a two-year deal, Mostert topped the practice timesheets on Friday by a massive 0.25 seconds.
He was streets ahead of nearest rivals James Moffat of Nissan and Holden championship contender James Courtney, as well as veteran teammate Mark Winterbottom who was nearly one second slower in 19th.
Volvo star Scott McLaughlin and Ford's David Reynolds rounded out the top five drivers.
Mostert is hoping to maintain his speed in qualifying on Saturday for the round's two 20-lap sprint races.
"When you don't quite have the car set-up and you still end up around sixth or seventh when you're expecting to be 15th, it's a good feeling," the 2014 Bathurst winner said.
"But when you get everything together and you have the chance to get pole, it's a pretty special day.
"I've now got the $1000 cheque bug and I'd like to keep getting it, so fingers crossed we can get a couple more this weekend."
The day didn't play out so well for defending champion Jamie Whincup, who was left languishing in 20th.
Whincup, who slipped to fifth on the overall standings after a poor outing in Perth, said the lack of pace he experienced Bargabello had continued.
"It's not really making sense at the moment," he said.
"We'll keep doing what we do and working hard to fix it, but if you don't have any pace, you can't do anything.
"If that's our highlight, then we're in for a tough weekend and we need to do something - we just need to work out what it is."
Teammate Craig Lowndes, who currently leads the championship over Courtney, was 10th quickest.
"We're struggling with a lack of front tyre grip, which is what you need around here for a good lap time, so we've got something to work at," the evergreen veteran said.
"We'll sit down tonight and prepare for tomorrow, but I'm still confident that we can make a decent car out of what we've done."
Qualifying begins at 11.55am (AEST) on Saturday, before two 20-lap sprints in the afternoon.
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