Supercars veterans Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom are hoping a happy hunting ground can be the spark to ignite their underwhelming 2017 campaigns.
Lowndes and Winterbottom head into Saturday's 120km race at Queensland Raceway without a win in the championship this year and scrambling to stay in the title hunt.
Sixth-placed Winterbottom has at least got himself on the podium twice this year and a third and fourth at the Townsville 400 earlier this month gives the 36-year-old some indication of progress.
Three-time series champion Lowndes, 43, finished as runner-up to Winterbottom in the 2015 title race but now stands seventh on the ladder heading into the Ipswich SuperSprint with a third-place in Tasmania in April his best race finish of the season.
It's a case of now or never for the pair but at least they're at a track they've tasted plenty of success at in the past.
Lowndes is a 12-time winner at Queensland Raceway, a record tally, while Winterbottom has claimed victory four times at the 3.12km circuit.
On Friday Winterbottom labelled his Ford Falcon "horrendous" after an underwhelming opening practice but bounced back in the day's second session to give him hope of a result this weekend.
"We've made it a car that I think we can compete with which is good," Winterbottom said
"Things were a lot better.
"I am proud of the crew for turning it from a back row car to a pretty much front of the field car."
Lowndes improved from 19th fastest to seventh-fastest across Friday's two practice runs but with qualifying being a crucial element at Ipswich, the Holden superstar knows he needs to improve.
"We had a run right at the end on a green tyre, like most of the others did," Lowndes said.
"We didn't maximise the lap, but definitely got a good direction going forward.
"I'm happy to be seventh and obviously qualifying is where we're focusing all our efforts at the moment."
Saturday's action begins with another practice run in the morning before qualifying and the 120km race in the afternoon.
A 200km race on Sunday wraps up the event.
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