Last in a series looking at the Verizon IndyCar Series championship season of Will Power through various eyes. Today, Liz Power talks about how her husband has come full circle.

Together, they dealt with the short-term heartache of falling short of the Verizon IndyCar Series championship in three successive seasons. Now, Will and Elizabeth Power – fortified as a couple and stronger individually – truly appreciate the accomplishments of the season that culminated Aug. 30 as Will Power wrapped up his first series championship in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car.

“We do have the same passion for the sport. I understand it and I think that helps,” said Liz Power, who met her husband while both were employed at Walker Racing in Champ Car. “We talk about everything racing openly and he’s able to vent when he’s frustrated. I’ll say, ‘Just calm down, take a deep breath and be patient’ and he’ll listen. He gets from me an honest opinion; he does the same for me with other things.”

Click it: Race engineer David Faustino || Chief mechanic Matt Jonsson

Following the 2012 season, in which Power (three wins, seven top-five finishes and five poles) came three points shy of claiming the championship, Liz Power believed similar efforts put forth in the 19-race 2013 season would prove to be fruitful in the title hunt.

“At that time I thought, ‘Yeah, Will has come a long way,’ and in one sense he had since his other title runs with Dario (Franchitti),” she said. “Each part has been a learning experience and something new to deal with, but looking back on it I can honestly say that now he has completely come full circle. It happened, I believe, last year.

“It was huge for Will not being in championship contention and having a rough season, kind of teaching him his race craft again. He had to get in there and scrap on starts and restarts – things that when he would qualify on pole or would be leading you’re not put in that position as much. He was able to hone in on all that again. On top of that, it made him focus on ovals.”

Power won his first race on an oval in June 2011 – a 114-lapper as part of a same-day doubleheader at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway – and earned his second oval victory in the 2013 season finale at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway. He added a dominating win in August at the Milwaukee Mile for one victory on a short oval, speedway and superspeedway.

“After the Las Vegas crash (in October 2011, in which he suffered multiple injuries), it really put him back on ovals,” Liz Power said. “He didn’t like them after that; 2013 forced him to really focus on what things he needed to do and gain experience. By Fontana last year, I can really say Will came full circle. When he won Fontana, I knew it was going to be a good year this year because he had that confidence and you could see it carry through all this season.”