INDYCAR: 'We're still in the game,' Kanaan says

Tony Kanaan admits that he's going to need a "little bit of luck" to upset Team Penske's charge toward the 2016 IndyCar drivers' title, but says that teammate Scott Dixon's surprise championship success last season proves that he is still in the hunt.

Juan Pablo Montoya led the standings for the entire 2015 season, only for Dixon to capitalize on a clash between the Colombian and teammate Will Power during the Sonoma finale to secure the title on a countback.

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This year, Penske's Simon Pagenaud and Power have established themselves as the main contenders, but Kanaan goes into this weekend's round at Watkins Glen as their closest threat. He has more ground to make up than Dixon did at the same time last year – heading into the last two races in 2015, Dixon was third in the standings and 34 points behind Montoya, while third-placed Kanaan currently trails Pagenaud by 113 points.

Any hope of closing that gap will require the Brazilian to take full advantage of the double-points on offer at Sonoma and finding Victory Lane for the first time this season, but he remains bullish about his chances.

"We're still in the game," he told RACER. "We realize it's going to be tough and we'll need a little bit of luck – we're going to have to win both races. But we have put ourselves in the fight. I'm still looking for that win, so maybe we'll get two wins. But last year our team had the same scenario going into the last two races and Scott ended up winning. So until I don't have a mathematical chance to win, I'm going to believe that I can."

Although he is still chasing a win in 2016, the 41-year-old is enjoying his strongest season since moving to Ganassi in 2014.

"The Indy GP [where he was involved in a crash with Sebastien Bourdais] was the only race where we've had a problem," he says. "Otherwise, we've been very consistent. I'm really happy with where I'm at with the team, and with my engineer, and so far it has been a great season. Obviously it's easier to say that when things are going well, but this has been my best season since I joined Ganassi, for sure."