Five drivers are in contention for the V8 Supercar title and one false move in round six starting Friday could be a championship killer for any one of them.

That's the equation at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich in the first of the long-distance, single-race rounds in this year's series.

The Queensland 300 is pivotal, with one 280-kilometre race on Sunday the only chance for a driver to pick up points for the weekend.

And with Ford's defending champion Marcos Ambrose and Holden's quartet of Rick Kelly, Steven Richards, Greg Murphy and Jason Bright the only realistic chances of winning this year's title, all are aware how costly an error during Sunday's race could be.

"Anyone who finished down the order in Queensland will take a dive in the championship," series leader Ambrose said.

"But despite leading the championship, I'm no less hungry to go for the race win - the best way to build a lead in the championship is win races."

Ambrose holds a solid lead over Kelly, but it's a tight race from second to fifth - all hoping Ford's leading man hits the horrors at his home track.

Behind the top five, others are also hoping the weekend lifts their fortunes.

Holden Racing Team's Mark Skaife, who has had a wretched season and is out of championship contention, believes the single-race format could open the door for him to climb from his current 12th place to a more respectable position.

And he's well aware Queensland is the first of three successive single-race rounds.

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