Coming into the third and final race of the round, Lowndes had managed to pull back the deficit to be even on points with Kelly, meaning that the driver out of the two who finished first would clinch the championship. Two laps into the final race, Kelly collided with Lowndes, who then slid into Todd Kelly. Damage to Lowndes car resulted in him finishing 29th, whereas Rick Kelly finished 18th and was awarded the series title despite not having won a single round.

In 2006, Kelly won the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series after being one of the most consistent performers throughout the season. The victory, however, was not without its share of controversy. Despite not winning a single round overall (though he did win an individual race), or scoring a pole position in any individual race, Kelly entered the final round of the series at Phillip Island seven points ahead of his nearest competitor, Craig Lowndes, (who had won four rounds) due to consistent high points finishes in all twelve of the previous 2006 rounds.

Kelly has joined other publicly known figures in support of the "Oscar's Law" campaign, a protest against the factory farming of companion animals. The campaign is named after a neglected dog found in central Victoria, Australia, and was launched in 2010. The list of supporters includes Kate Ceberano (singer), Jon Stevens (singer) and Sia (musician). Kelly not only appears on the campaign's website, but he has also promoted the campaign on his Twitter account.