Panther Racing

Panther Racing is a team in the IndyCar Series.

History

The team was founded in 1997, at that time sponsored by Pennzoil. First driver was Scott Goodyear, who at the team remained until 2000, 1999 and 2000, took the first victory championship was second. 2001 they picked Sam Hornish Jr., who won the championship in both this year and in 2002. According to a fifth championship rank 2003 Hornish then moved to Penske Racing.

For the 2004 season, Panther teamed up with Team Menard, so you began two cars for Mark Taylor and Tomas Scheckter. 2005 Taylor was replaced by former Formula 1 driver Tomáš Enge. For 2006, they lost Pennzoil as sponsor and Vitor Meira was the driver of the only remaining vehicle. In order to inserting more vehicles again, in 2007 there was a partnership with the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri from Japan, which cooperated in the previous years with Fernandez Racing. This ran Kosuke Matsuura again a second driver in the season, a third vehicle was used in two other races.

Since Matsuura sponsor Panasonic changed in the following season to Andretti Green Racing, Panther had to shrink again to a one - car team. This was further piloted by Vitor Meira, but at the show race at Surfers Paradise was already Dan Wheldon at the wheel, he took over the car for the 2009 season. However Wheldon was unable to repeat his success at Andretti Green Racing and Ganassi and reached in the two following two seasons, only six top 5 finishes. Besides Wheldon, a second vehicle drove at each race. 2009 Scott Sharp sat in this car in 2010 it was Ed Carpenter.

Wheldon left the team for 2003 and JR Hildebrand took over the root cockpit with Panther. The rookie surprised at the Indianapolis 500 with a very good race and leads the field in the final round, however, flew in the last curve in the outer wall. Ironically, Wheldon took the lead just before the finish line and won the race while Hildebrand came in only second to the finish. This was the fourth time in a row that Panther Racing reached this place in Indianapolis. In the rest of the season Hildebrand could not confirm them and ended up at the end of the season outside the top 10 in the overall standings. In the following season continued this and the young U.S. boy reached rank 11 in the final standings.

Panther Racing began in 2012 no other vehicle more of a, however, had introduced his present contract with Chevrolet engine for a second vehicle in a partnership with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing ( DRR). Both teams also cooperated beyond this from the middle of the 2012 season in the use of the vehicles. At the start of the 2013 season Hildebrand stayed in the car, Oriol Servia was in the car of DRR. After the Indianapolis 500 Hildebrand was released, while DRR withdrew from the series due to lack of budget. As a result, Servia and Ryan Briscoe drove the race car number 4 Briscoe was injured in the first race in Toronto on the hand, which is why Carlos Muñoz came as a substitute in a race to use.

Driver

Achievements

  • Junior IRL championship with Sam Hornish: 2001
  • Junior IRL championship with Sam Hornish: 2002
  • 2003: Indy Lights championship with Mark Taylor
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