Will Power has conceded he will likely need help from his Team Penske team-mates in order to overcome the points deficit to IndyCar Series leader Alex Palou and take a third title.
With three rounds to go, the 43-year-old trails Palou by 54 points. If the Chip Ganassi racer adds even one point to that total at the end of the Milwaukee double-header weekend, he will become the first back-to-back series champion since Dario Franchitti's treble between 2009-11 - and secure his third title from the last four seasons.
One very distinct advantage Power has over Palou is the fact the last three races are all on ovals, a track discipline the former has won on 10 times over his illustrious career, including at the 2018 Indianapolis 500.
Palou has delivered some strong results on ovals with 15 top 10s over the last 18, which puts him level with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward for the most over that stretch. However, Palou has yet to win on one.
Power, along with team-mates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, has kept Team Penske perfect on ovals this year, winning all four races thus far.
The squad has been a force to be reckoned with on ovals over the past three years, winning 12 of the last 15 contests — 10 of which courtesy of Newgarden’s mastery.
With Power sitting second in the title race and the best shot to bring the Astor Cup Trophy back to Penske, the biggest question is if his team-mates will do all they can to elevate him or race for themselves.
“If we have the cars to win, and we want to win the championship, yes, that's probably what we should do with three to go,” Power said.
“We should probably be looking at how can we get the #12 car in the best possible position. Really, that's our only chance.
“We have three really good drivers — four really if you include Santino (Ferrucci, via Penske’s technical alliance with AJ Foyt Racing) — that are capable of running at the front.
“I'm the head of that group, we win the race, that starts to make things look possible.
“We'll talk about that when we get to Milwaukee, see if that's a possibility.”
Power wasn’t shy in sharing the significance of what a third championship would mean to him.
“To win in this series, at this time, it's so difficult,” he added.
“You get a third championship from a deficit of 54 points at this point, come back from a deficit like that, that would be amazing. It would be absolutely amazing.
“To finish on all ovals, as well, kind of going back to my early days, sort of unfinished business there.
“It's a tough climb from here, but not impossible.”
