Season 3 of the Tasman Racing League Oval Series concluded Wednesday night, with both the drivers and teams championships coming down to the final round at Michigan. TRL rookie David Webb finished second, but that was more than enough for him to lock up the season title. It's a remarkable accomplishment for Webb, the first rookie to ever win a TRL oval championship, made even more impressive by the fact that he didn't join the series until the third race of the season. Webb was officially crowned a TRL double champion, having clinched the road series title last week at Road Atlanta. Webb joins only Lewis Buhagiar, who won both the oval and road series last season, in this exclusive club. Consistency was Webb's not-so-secret weapon, almost never making an unforced error and managing seven top fives from his eight starts.

The story of the season was Webb's robotic consistency versus the raw pace of his nearest rival Buhagiar, who claimed four wins to Webb's two but also found himself in trouble on and off the track on multiple occasions. who faced an uphill battle after entering the final round some 30 points behind Webb. Buhagiar did everything he could to close the gap, leading a race-high 28 laps en route to the win. The cards never fell his way, though, and at the end of the day Buhagiar came up just seven points short of a repeat title. The only other former champion in the field, Lukas Blake, finished third in the final round to cling to his third-place championship position ahead of Nicholas Crawford and Terry Visser.

"I had a lot to lose," Webb said, speaking to Trackspot TV's John Wright after the race. "One wrong corner and it was race over and championship over, so I was very aware of that." As he did all season though, Webb managed the pressure perfectly, seemingly knowing second was enough and holding back from attacking Buhagiar for the win in the closing laps.

Discussing his championship with Wright postrace, Buhagiar rued the last-lap disconnection that cost him the win and ultimately the title at Bristol. "Obviously it makes Bristol sting a bit more... but just being there in the hunt in the last race and being so close makes it more than enjoyable."

Buhagiar can take some comfort from the teams championship, though, where he led Hybrid Simsports to back-to-back titles. Buhagiar's win at Michigan was critical to holding off a late charge in the standings from Right Rear Racing, who enjoyed a banner year and seriously challenged for the teams title for the first time. Valhalla Racing and DNF Motorsports also finished within striking distance of the top two, and with championship contenders this season on all four large teams, Season 4 may be the most competitive teams championship TRL has ever seen.