Will Power’s aim is clear, and the Team Penske driver is in a position at the outset of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 23 to make a run at his goal of repeating as the Verizon IndyCar Series champion.
Power qualified third at 220.398 mph in the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet for the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile triangular oval — behind teammates Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud. Power is fifth in the championship standings — one spot/one point behind Castroneves — entering the penultimate race of the season.
The finale — worth double base points — is Aug. 30 at Sonoma Raceway, where Power has won three of the past five races on the 2.38-mile, 12-turn road course and finished second in 2012. He’s earned the Verizon P1 Award four of the past five years.
“It’s very obvious to me what I have to do to win the championship. I have to win the next two races or be super strong here and win at Sonoma. I don’t have to be looking over my shoulder but looking forward,” Power said. “I’d love to go into Sonoma with a really good chance of winning the championship.”
Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who qualified a season-low 19th, leads the title chase by nine points over Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Scott Dixon, who won the 2013 race at Pocono and is a two-time winner at Sonoma Raceway, is third in the standings.
“It’s really open. If any of the five guys out the championship (chase) wins this race, it puts them in a great position to win the championship obviously with double points in the next one,” Power said.
Power has a field-high five earned poles this season and won one race. He has two top-10 finishes in the past five races.
“I’d rate my season a six out of 10,” he said. “It’s just been abnormal things happening, and that happens. I’m really hoping these two races play in my favor.”
