Dakar Rally: Power and Penske Eye Third Title Amidst Palou’s Points Lead
With three rounds left in the 2023 IndyCar Series, Team Penske’s Will Power finds himself trailing points leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing by a significant 54-point margin. However, the 43-year-old Australian driver remains hopeful of securing his third career championship, with the final three races set to take place on oval circuits – a discipline in which Power has excelled throughout his illustrious open-wheel racing career.
Power, who has won the Indianapolis 500 and numerous other oval events, believes his team’s expertise on such tracks could be the key to overcoming Palou’s advantage. “> 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.”
Team Penske has been a dominant force on ovals in recent years, winning 12 of the last 15 such events, with 10 of those victories coming courtesy of Power’s teammate Josef Newgarden. This remarkable record has helped the team maintain a perfect oval record so far in the 2023 season, and Power is hopeful that his teammates will rally behind him in the final three races to help secure his third title.
“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,” Power explained. “I’m the head of that group, we win the race, that starts to make things look possible.”
With Palou yet to secure a victory on an oval circuit, Power believes the finale’s oval-heavy schedule could be the key to his championship aspirations. “> To win in this series, at this time, it’s so difficult,” Power 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.”
As the IndyCar Series heads to the Milwaukee double-header, all eyes will be on the battle between Power and Palou, with the Team Penske driver hoping to leverage his team’s oval expertise to reel in the points lead and secure a third title in dominant fashion.
🔗 Source