SONOMA, Calif. -- Will Power won’t lose any sleep over what could have been Aug. 24 in the penultimate race of the Verizon IndyCar Series season at Sonoma Raceway. If anything, three consecutive unfulfilled title years taught Power that such mental expenditure is wasteful if not debilitating.

So the 33-year-old Aussie will take the 10th-place finish secured in the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, along with a 51-point championship lead, into the MAVTV 500 on Aug. 30 at Auto Club Speedway and “see what we can do.”

Power, the pole sitter who led a field-high 33 laps on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn road course, could have effectively wrapped up his first series title. But a spin on cold tires after a restart midway through the 85-lap race left the door ajar for Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves to swoop in and seize the prize.

To accomplish the feat, however, in the double-points finale of the Triple Crown Series under the lights on the 2-mile oval, Castroneves would have to win and Power place eighth. Other scenarios include Castroneves finishing second and Power finishing 16th and Castroneves placing third and Power coming in 21st. All are exclusive of the bonus points on the table for the Verizon P1 Award (one point), leading a race lap (one point) and leading the most laps (two points).

Want the easy math? If Power finishes sixth or better, he's in.

Click it: Points possibilities entering the championship race

“We maintained the points lead, and we’re going to Fontana,” said Power, who increased the advantage over Castroneves by 12 points through was a disappointing outing for both drivers.

Power was in control to win at Sonoma for the fourth time in the past five years before the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car spun in traffic exiting the slow-speed Turn 7 right-hander. He lost eight positions on the lap but didn’t create further tumult by panicking. After pitting for fresh tires on Lap 61, Power steadily made up ground in the race that featured 20 cars on the lead lap and 10 lead changes.

“He did a pretty good job keeping his cool and his head in the game and we’ll go to Fontana and battle it out," said Power's race strategist, Tim Cindric. "We just have to keep fighting."

So will Castroneves, who started sixth in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske car, was involved in a multi-car incident less than 30 seconds into the race and also had contact on Lap 36. He limped in 18th.

“Anything can happen,” said Castroneves, who also is seeking his first series title after finishing second or third five times. “We are not giving up. We will keep on it and give everything we have next weekend to try and

Simon Pagenaud advanced 12 positions relative to his starting spot to finish third in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports car, which kept him in title contention – 81 points back. Race runner-up Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2012 series champion, and 2013 champion Scott Dixon, the race winner, also are mathematically eligible until Power takes the green flag for what he hopes will be a triumphant evening after three years of heartache.

“I’ve just got to focus on the job at hand and get the most out of every situation,” said Power, who scored his first superspeedway victory in the 2013 finale at Auto Club Speedway from the pole.

2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship Points Possibilities

Will Power 626 Points Finish

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Points 1 100 726 727 728 729 730 2 80 706 707 708 709 710 3 70 696 697 698 699 700 4 64 690 691 692 693 694 5 60 686 687 688 689 690 6 56 682 683 684 685 686 7 52 678 679 680 681 682 8 48 674 675 676 677 678 9 44 670 671 672 673 674 10 40 666 667 668 669 670 11 38 664 665 666 667 668 12 36 662 663 664 665 666 13 34 660 661 662 663 664 14 32 658 659 660 661 662 15 30 656 657 658 659 660 16 28 654 655 656 657 658 17 26 652 653 654 655 656 18 24 650 651 652 653 654 19 22 648 649 650 651 652 20 20 646 647 648 649 650 21 18 644 645 646 647 648 22 16 642 643 644 645 646

Helio Castroneves 575 Points Finish

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Points 1 100 675 676 677 678 679 2 80 655 656 657 658 659 3 70 645 646 647 648 649 4 64 639 640 641 642 643 5 60 635 636 637 638 639 6 56 631 632 633 634 635 7 52 627 628 629 630 631 8 48 623 624 625 626 627 9 44 619 620 621 622 623 10 40 615 616 617 618 619 11 38 613 614 615 616 617 12 36 611 612 613 614 615 13 34 609 610 611 612 613 14 32 607 608 609 610 611 15 30 605 606 607 608 609 16 28 603 604 605 606 607 17 26 601 602 603 604 605 18 24 599 600 601 602 603 19 22 597 598 599 600 601 20 20 595 596 597 598 599 21 18 593 594 595 596 597 22 16 591 592 593 594 595