For their first season in 1998, the team fielded the #4 PennzoilG-ForceGF01B-OldsmobileAuroraL47 V8 for Scott Goodyear. The car had an unusual yellow and black paint scheme, as Pennzoil did not use its traditional all-yellow livery in favor of a Sam Bass design as part of changes by the company when they added NASCAR sponsorship to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 1998 (Bass, a well-known race car motorsport livery designer, wanted more focus on black instead of the traditional yellow to reflect Pennzoil's sponsorship of Earnhardt and Earnhardt's signature black color). The car used #4, which reflected Harbaugh's jersey number with the Indianapolis Colts. The team would debut at the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Goodyear would start in 21st place (due to qualifying being rained and the top 20 starters being determined by 1996-1997 entrant standings and the remaining eight by practice speeds). Goodyear would finish in 17th place due to a suspension failure after 132 laps. Goodyear would then finish in 6th place (one lap down) at the following race, the Dura Lube 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Over the next seven races, Goodyear would finish in the top 6 five times and would get a best finish of 2nd place at the New England 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Goodyear was ranked in 5th place following the Atlanta 500 Classic at Atlanta Motor Speedway and would finish in 7th place with 244 points due to 22nd-place finishes at the last two races of the season, the Lone Star 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and the Las Vegas 500K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The team would also field the #43 PennzoilG-ForceGF01B-OldsmobileAuroraL47 V8 for Dave Steele at Texas and Las Vegas. Steele would finish in 24th place at Texas and 27th place at Las Vegas. Steele would finish in 36th place in points with 22 points (Steele also drove for Helmut Marko Racing at Phoenix).
For 2000, Goodyear drove the #4 PennzoilDallaraIR00-OldsmobileAuroraL47 V8. The team began to use an all-yellow Pennzoil livery after using the Sam Bass-designed black and yellow livery the previous two seasons. At the season-opening Delphi Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway, Goodyear started in 8th place and finished in 4th place. Goodyear would then finish in 2nd place at the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 at Phoenix International Raceway and was ranked in 3rd place in points. Following Phoenix, Goodyear only had one finish outside of the top 12 (a 16th-place finish at the Radisson 200 at Pikes Peak International Raceway) and was always ranked inside the top 4 in points. Goodyear would later win the pole position at the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway and finish in 2nd place to Buddy Lazier after leading a race-high 65 laps. Following the race, Goodyear was ranked in 2nd place in points and was 38 points behind Lazier (a win gives 50 points, while leading the most laps gave 2 points and qualifying on the pole position gave 1 point). At the season-ending Excite 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Goodyear started in 2nd place and won the race after leading for 39 laps. Eddie Cheever (who was also eligible to win the championship due to being 4 point behind Lazier) would finish in 2nd place and Lazier would finish in 4th place. Goodyear would finish in 2nd place in the championship to Lazier by 18 points.
For 2002, Hornish returned to drive the #4 PennzoilDallaraIR02-Chevrolet V8. At the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hornish qualified on the pole position and led for 166 of 200 laps to win the race. Hornish would then win the Yahmaha Indy 400 at California Speedway after leading for 73 laps and passing Jaques Lazier for the lead on the final lap on the main straightaway. During the season, Hornish would battle for the points lead with MarlboroTeam Penske teammates Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran. Hornish then had three races where he failed to finish better than 17th place (Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway) and would drop to 3rd place in points behind the Penske drivers following the Indianapolis 500 (where Hornish finished in 25th place, ten laps down, due to contact with the wall). Hornish would then win the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway after leading only the final 2 laps of the race. Hornish would reclaim the points lead following the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway with a 2nd-place finish. After the following race, the Gateway Indy 250 at Gateway International Raceway, Hornish was 8 points behind new leader Castroneves and 1 point behind de Ferran. Hornish would then win the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway by 0.0024 over Al Unser Jr. after qualifying on the pole position and leading for 102 of 200 laps. Following the race, Hornish led Castroneves by 12 points and de Ferran by 38 points. De Ferran was injured in the race and would miss the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. At Texas, Hornish started in 3rd place and led for 79 laps and would beat Castroneves for the victory. Hornish would win the championship with 531 points. The team would also field the #15 PennzoilDallaraIR02-Chevrolet V8 at Chicagoland and Texas for Dan Wheldon (who would make his series debut in the car). At Chicagoland, Wheldon started in 7th place and finished in 10th place. At Texas, Wheldon started in 28th (last) place and would finish in 15th place, five laps down. Wheldon would finish in 36th place in points with 35 points.
In 2003, Hornish would continue to drive the #4 PennzoilDallaraIR03-Chevrolet V8. Several teams from the struggling Champ Car World Series would join the IndyCar Series full-time and would use Honda and Toyota engines. Panther's Chevrolet engines would struggle compared to the Honda and Toyota engines during the season. At the season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Hornish started in 3rd place and finish in 10th place, one lap down. Hornish would then get a 6th-place finish at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. At the Indianapolis 500, they would field the #44 and #98 Pedigo Chevrolet DallaraIR03-Chevrolet V8 for Robby McGehee and Billy Boat. Hornish would qualify in 18th place while Boat and McGehee qualified in 29th and 31st place. Boat would retire after 7 laps due an engine failure and would finish in 32nd place. McGehee would suffer a steering failure after 125 laps and would finish in 25th place. Hornish was running in the top 10 when he blew an engine after 195 of 200 laps and would finish in 15th place. Hornish would get three top 10 finishes at the next three races, with a best finish of 4th place at the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. Cosworth would then build a new Chevrolet engine that was dubbed "Chevworth". Hornish's results would significantly improve and he would have a streak of six races where he finished no worse than 6th place (his next worst finish was 2nd place) and would get three wins at the Belterra Casino Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway (after leading 181 of 200 laps and qualifying on the pole position), the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway and the Toyota Indy 400 at California Speedway. Going into the season-ending Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway Hornish was 19 points behind leaders Scott Dixon and Hélio Castroneves (who were tied) and had a chance to win a third consecutive championship, along with Tony Kanaan and Gil de Ferran. At Texas, Hornish retired after 176 of 195 laps due to a spray issue and would finish in 17th place and in 5th place in the championship with 461 points, 46 points behind champion Dixon. McGehee finished in 35th place in points with 5 points and Boat finished in 37th place with 1 point.
For 2007, Kosuke Matsuura joined Panther as a second car, running Panasonic sponsorship and in association with the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri, with the #55. Meira's #4 carried Delphi sponsorship. Both drivers had so-so years, with Matsuura taking a top five at Michigan.
2008–2013: National Guard sponsorship and four 2nd places at Indy
For 2008, Matsuura was released from the 55 and Panasonic sponsorship went to the #27 of rookie Hideki Mutoh for Andretti Green Racing. Meira's team remained unchanged. Meira scored a second-place finish for Panther Racing at the 2008 Indianapolis 500, earning more than a million dollars.
In 2009 former IndyCar Series champ and Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon replaced Meira in the Panther #4 car, with the U.S. National Guard as the primary sponsor. Veteran driver Scott Sharp competed in the #16 Patron car for the team at the Indy 500. Wheldon finished second, with Sharp off the pace.
In 2010, Wheldon remained with the team and again placed second in the Indianapolis 500, however the team was not a factor for most of the season. The squad also ran a limited schedule with Ed Carpenter, scoring a second-place finish at Kentucky. Wheldon departed the team after the season, while Carpenter signed on with Sarah Fisher Racing.
In 2009, Firestone Indy Lights champion J. R. Hildebrand signed a multi-year contract to drive the #4 National Guard car starting in 2011.[2] In the 2011 Indy 500 the team's rookie driver was leading when he crashed on the final turn of the final lap. Hildebrand coasted across the finish line to place second. Ironically former Panther Racing driver Dan Wheldon, driving the #98 William Rast car for Bryan Herta Autosport, won the race after finishing second the last two years.
Hildebrand remained with the team. He was 11th in the final points standings. Panther Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing formed a strategic alliance prior to the 2012 Indy 500. The team obtained Panther's second Chevrolet engine contract.[3]
Hildebrand was released from his contract after the 2013 Indy 500. Ryan Briscoe and Oriol Servia alternated in the #4 car for the remainder of the season. Briscoe was injured in Race 1 of the Toronto doubleheader. With Servia unavailable, Panther Racing got Indy Lights points leader (at the time) Carlos Muñoz to drive the #4 for race 2.
2014: closedown
In 2014, Panther Racing sued Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and IndyCar, alleging it lost the National Guard sponsorship worth $17.2 million because of bid rigging.[4] Without the National Guard sponsorship, Panther did not field an entry for the start of the 2014 season. Columbian driver Carlos Huertas tested for Panther Racing at Sebring.[5]
In April a report stated that only a skeleton staff remained with the organization, and their equipment was sold to KV Racing Technology to field a fourth entry for James Davison at the 2014 Indianapolis 500.[6] The team announced that its remaining assets would be sold off at auction on July 23.[7]
The team was officially listed as defunct in August 2014.
Infiniti Pro Series/Indy Lights
Panther's 2003 Infiniti Pro Series car driven by Mark Taylor
In 2003 Panther Racing won the Infiniti Pro Series with Mark Taylor. He won 7 of the 12 races of the season and graduated to the IndyCar Series in 2004.
Hideki Muto finished 2nd in the 2007 Indy Pro Series for Super Aguri Panther Racing.
Daniel Clive Wheldon was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner of the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).
Teodorico Fabi is an Italian former racing driver. He competed in Formula One, IndyCar, and sports car racing. He claimed pole position in his rookie year at the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Teo is the older brother of former Formula One driver Corrado Fabi.
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix.
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho, nicknamed ''TK,'' is a Brazilian racing driver. He is best known for racing in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1998 to 2002, and the IndyCar Series from 2002 to 2023.
Robert Buddy Lazier is an American auto racing driver, best known for winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 Indy Racing League season championship.
Vítor Meira is a Brazilian former auto racing driver. He formerly competed in the IndyCar Series and has twice finished second in the Indianapolis 500.
Tomas Scheckter is a South African former racing driver best known for his time in the IndyCar Series.
The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series began on Sunday, March 6 and ended on Sunday, October 16. The season, which consisted of 17 races, was the 10th season of the IRL IndyCar Series since it split from CART in 1995.
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Hunter-Reay also won in the defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to his experience in Indy car racing, Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and various forms of sports car racing.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series began on March 26 and concluded on September 10. Sam Hornish Jr. won his third IndyCar Series championship. Hornish also won the 90th Indianapolis 500, passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final lap less than 500 feet (150 m) from the finish line. The title chase was very dramatic between Penske drivers Hornish and Hélio Castroneves battling Ganassi drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon. The four drivers occupied the first four positions in the final race at Chicagoland Speedway, with Wheldon leading Dixon home for a Ganassi 1–2, but Hornish finishing third, edging out reigning champion Wheldon on a tiebreak. Third would have been enough to catapult fourth-place finisher Castroneves to take the title, but he instead ended up two points behind Hornish and Wheldon. Dixon was also in strong title contention, finishing a mere 15 points adrift of the championship.
Everette Edward Carpenter, Jr. is an American auto racing driver, currently competing in the IndyCar Series for his team, Ed Carpenter Racing. He is the stepson of Indy Racing League founder Tony George.
The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing. While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with it, leaving Scott Dixon winless and in 10th place in his attempt to defend his 2003 championship.
The 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) was one of transition, with two reigning CART championship teams, Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, joining the series with full time entries. The Oldsmobile engine was rebranded as a Chevrolet, and both Honda and Toyota announced their participation in the series starting in 2003 while Infiniti announced its withdrawal.
The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use had expired. Several former CART teams brought their full operations to the IRL, most notably major squads Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing, as well as former CART engine manufacturers Toyota and Honda, replacing Infiniti who shifted its efforts to the new feeder series Infiniti Pro Series. Many of the IRL's old guard including Robbie Buhl, Greg Ray, and Buddy Lazier had difficulty competing in this new manufacturer-driven landscape. The league also added its first international race this year, taking over the CART date at Twin Ring Motegi.
The 2007 IRL IndyCar Series began with a night race on Saturday March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The season's premiere event, the 91st Indianapolis 500 was held on May 27. The season finale was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 9. Dario Franchitti won four races during the season, including the Indy 500, clinched the 2007 IndyCar Series championship after he won the final race of the season at Chicagoland Speedway, after points leader Scott Dixon ran out of fuel in turn 3 of the final lap.
The 2009 IndyCar Series was the 14th season of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race season began on April 5, and its premier event, the 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held May 24. All races were broadcast on ABC or Versus in high-definition. It represented the 98th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing.
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 16th season of the IndyCar Series and the 100th recognized season of American open-wheel motor racing. The season was sanctioned by IndyCar and was part of the Mazda Road to Indy. The season began in March and concluded in October, consisting of seventeen events.
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship was the scheduled final race of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar series. It was to be run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada USA on October 16, 2011, and was scheduled for 200 laps around the facility's 1.544 mile oval.
The 2002 Delphi Indy 300 was an Indy Racing League (IRL) motor race that took place on September 8, 2002, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, in front of approximately 50,000 spectators. It was the 14th of 15 scheduled rounds of the 2002 Indy Racing League and the second annual running of the event. Panther Racing driver Sam Hornish Jr. won the 200-lap race from pole position with the closest margin of victory in the IRL of 0.0024 seconds over Al Unser Jr. of Kelley Racing. Third place was Hemelgarn Racing's Buddy Lazier.
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