Herta, who is fourth in the drivers’ championship, sits 57 points in arrears of the series lead. A win pays 50 points and points are still awarded for non-finishers in IndyCar.

Herta won the most recent IndyCar race on the streets of Toronto, leading 81 of the 85-lap race distance.

That ended a drought dating back to 2022. He last win prior to Torono was on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He had been a runner-up on three occasions since.

Asked post-race about his title aspirations, Herta said, “I mean, it’s possible.”

The run to the chequered flag will be fascinating with four of the remaining five races on ovals.

“In testing we were quite a bit better than Alex [Palou] at Milwaukee,” said Herta.

“That’s not to say that they’re not going to find more speed when we go back.

“That’s a big points weekend. That’s basically double points with two races there.”

The solitary road course race at Portland will be a focal point for a lot of teams and drivers.

Herta finished 13th there last year after giving away a possible win when he sped in the pit lane.

“We’ve had success at Portland,” said Herta, who has a career-best fourth place finish there.

“We were onto basically win there last year until we got a speeding penalty.”

“There’s a lot of tracks that we’ve had success at in the past coming up.

“I have never put my head down and said the championship is over at any point just because you never know in IndyCar.

“It will take a little bit of help. He [Palou] might need to have a few heartbreaks here and there.

“But we’ve been gaining points on him, so hopefully that can continue.”

Mid-pack movement 👀

The #IndyTO has shaken up the championship standings. pic.twitter.com/ME2TpPzs01

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 22, 2024

Herta said the dry spell made him hungrier than ever to win.

“It’s not frustration, it’s just eagerness almost,” Herta explained.

“For me it was hunger. I never got down about it. There were times maybe frustration at places I thought I could win and it didn’t happen.

“But I think over the season, you just get hungrier for it and you want it more. It does make you work harder. I think that’s a good thing. But I’d prefer it if we just won a lot more.”