Ford star Mark Winterbottom can get by V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup – with a little help from his friends.

Winterbottom heads into this weekend’s Gold Coast 600 trailing Whincup in the standings by 297 points.

Three events remain in 2014, meaning time is running out for Winterbottom to close the gap on his rival.

A maximum haul of 300 points is potentially on offer if the 2013 Bathurst champion can win both races on the Surfers Paradise street circuit, though ensuring Whincup’s collection is minimised is also crucial.

That’s where the power of buddies can help with Winterbottom hoping his Ford Performance Racing stablemates block out Whincup at the weekend.

FPR have four cars on the grid for this weekend’s races, with Chaz Mostert coming in on a high after his incredible Bathurst win this month, David Reynolds returning to the scene of his maiden V8 Supercars race win in 2013 and Jack Perkins qualifying inside the top 10 at Mount Panorama.

Winterbottom, who finished sixth behind fifth-placed Whincup at Bathurst, says it will take a team effort to keep the championship a realistic possibility going into the final two events of the year.

“There’s 900 points and we need 300 or something,” he told AAP.

“Mathematically you sort of have to do a good job every round. The good thing with this place is it’s high-risk so we can try to win, put pressure on and hope.

“The thing you need to have is cars up there – that’s probably the thing that we can control … four cars in the top five, that sort of thing.

“That makes him (Whincup) fifth. We need to just make sure our cars are quick.”

The only fly in Winterbottom’s ointment is Whincup’s superior record on the Gold Coast.

The five-time V8s champion has collected six race wins at the venue since 2006 while Winterbottom has just two victories on the streets of Surfers.

The Gold Coast 600 begins on Friday with practice before a 300km race each on Saturday and Sunday.