He was asked a direct question Saturday night – can you win the championship? – and Will Power had a direct answer.

Yes.

Think about all the justifiable reasons he could have said maybe. He’s 68 points behind leader Scott Dixon and 42 behind Alexander Rossi with just two races to go in the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Until Saturday’s patient-but-not-so-patient victory at Gateway Motorsports Park, Power hadn’t won since the Indianapolis 500 in May. Not a terrible season, by any means, but not necessarily a title run.

Until now. He’s within reach, and Will Power is best when he’s closing.

“Yes, we can absolutely do it,” Power said during a press conference following his win in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. “It's mathematically possible. When I turned up to Indy, it was a single-points race (INDYCAR Grand Prix) and a double-points race (Indianapolis 500). I was about this amount of points behind, and I came out two points ahead with two wins. So yes, absolutely.”

That’s right. He’s back. The guy who matched A.J. Foyt for second place all-time in pole positions just tied Bobby Unser for seventh place all-time in victories. And when Will Power wins, the twinkle and swagger resurface. We can’t help but pay attention.

It’s one of the many reasons Power connects with fans. When he’s on – and he was on Saturday night – he relishes it. Fans want emotion from their racers. They want a connection to the sport that’s similar to what they experience while watching. They want passion. With Power, they get it. They get glee and silliness. They get elation.

Remember that crazily joyful face at Indy? It returned at Gateway:

Another admirable and endearing characteristic about Power is his ability to plant his right foot when asked. Much of racing involves the art of making fuel last as long as possible – going fast while going slow. But when Power has a full tank and fresh tires and is told to gas it, he’s a hoot.

That’s what happened Saturday night. Team owner Roger Penske was calling his race strategy from the pit stand. The boss told him to go. And go he did.

“The last couple years I've been like, ‘Man, I'm not going to save fuel anymore.’ I'd have like 10 more race wins to my name if I'd just taken off back in the day instead of saving fuel and getting caught by a yellow or something. That's the most fun way to go racing is when you can just go hard, you don't have to think about lifting and being in a lean fuel slot. We'll see, maybe we'll do that the next two races, see how it works out.”

Power is facing a longshot. Maybe it’s even beyond a longshot. He knows it. He also knows, as people who enjoy watching him know, that he’s best when coming from behind. The Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday at Portland International Raceway is now his race. Win it, and Power’s not a longshot anymore. Just like Indianapolis, he’ll be facing double points in the finale Sept. 16 at Sonoma Raceway.

He needs to be tenacious and bold, and that’s when he’s at his best.

“We have to take risks,” Power said Saturday night. “We have to make things happen. Kind of like tonight, we just said, ‘Let's go, let's run hard. We've got to beat these guys. We can't finish behind anymore.’ So I'm going to be aggressive with them, racing-wise. If there's a half gap there, I'm going to go for it. You have to. They know it; they've got a lead. I've got nothing to lose.”

Neither does anyone who’s watching.