It might be an old line but Championship leader Jamie Whincup still admits that it ain't over until the fat lady sings.
Whincup is just four points off sealing the V8 Supercar title with the Sydney Telstra 500 up his sleeve in two weeks and even if he does accomplish it there will be no early champagne.
He was at it again in the TeamVodafone Commodore at Winton today topping the Friday practice times ahead of a well-deserved Dean Fiore in his Jim Beam Falcon and the quick but unlucky Tony D'Alberto in his Hiflex colours.
Fiore was fastest in the third of four practice sessions but that was better than everybody except Whincup on the day while D'Alberto was a welcome addition to the top three for the first time when he was second in the final track stint of the day.
Whincup is aiming for a fourth V8 Supercar title and is 296 points ahead of Orccon Steel FPR's Mark Winterbottom. Each event is worth 300 points to the driver that wins both races; and that is the mark that can be unassailable heading into Sydney's marquee event.
But a measured Whincup has been here many times before.
"It's not important to wrap up the Championship," he said of this weekend.
"It's a race; we are going to go out there as hard as we possibly can. We are certainly not going to conserve. Whatever happens we are proud of that.
"It's not over until that last race in December. You can still lose points. We have to get points for sure but there will be no celebrating after this weekend."
Whincup has a solid record at Winton without being outstanding. His team-mate Craig Lowndes, in third in the title race, has arguably had a better record at the regional Victorian headquarters.
"It's certainly a contrast coming from Abu Dhabi where you have a nice open track to here which is quite tight and twisty. I enjoy driving around big open places but I also quite enjoy short little tracks like this," said Whincup.
All Winterbottom can do is stay in front of Whincup and reduce the gap as much as possible.
"They definitely found something in that patch when they overtook us and we have been trying to catch up ever since," he said. "Winton should be good for us; we have tested here and been happy and we know out set-up around here. Hopefully we can show it tomorrow."
Fiore is still undecided about his future next year and where his licence may end up; or whether he will be driving or not, so today's outcome was timely.
"(Paul) Dude Morris just said to me you are driving for your job so you are up there. I guess you have got to forget about everything that is going on in the background," he said, unsure of what he actually got right today.
"Maybe if you've done that many miles around here that you don't really know what is best. I'm sure though that the FPR boys and the locals will get there stuff together tomorrow. We think we have a reasonable package but tomorrow will tell."
It was a similar picture for D'Alberto who is unquestionably quick but has struggled to finish races.
"We haven't finished a lot of races lately so I've got about 100 sets of green tyres in my box. I wasn't really that wrapped with the car today but if we are here at the end of the day it's not too bad," he said.
Another driver with an unsure future in Frenchman Alex Premat also performed well on the day if the Fujitsu GRM sister car of Michael Caruso to finish in fifth overall for the day.