Catchfence

“Panther Racing Driver Improves from Starting Position, Finishes Clean on Airport Course”

EDMONTON, Canada – (July 26, 2009) – Panther Racing driver Dan Wheldon improved seven positions from his starting spot during Sunday’s 95-lap Rexall Edmonton Indy at the City Centre Airport Circuit to finish in the 15th position. The race featured just one full-course caution as the IndyCar Series field had to drive through a 93-lap stretch of green-flag conditions that opened the race in the hot summer conditions.

Team Penske part-timer Will Power was the race winner, with teammate Helio Castroneves and Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon completing the podium.

Wheldon slipped one spot in the IndyCar Series championship chase, and now stands in seventh position, just behind Andretti Green Racing drivers Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti – who is just four points ahead of Wheldon and the Panther team.

The team now makes preparations for next Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway, where the team was victorious in 2003 with Sam Hornish Jr. Panther started on the front row there last season with Vitor Meira, who led the race before finishing fourth. Wheldon finished fifth there last year, and twice finished on the podium on the 1.5-mile oval.
The Meijer Indy 300 will be broadcast live on VERSUS next Saturday at 8 p.m. (EST), with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, www.indycar.com and Sirius XM channel 211.

Dan Wheldon, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda

“It was just a very tough weekend, but drawing on the positives; at the end of the race, as rubber went down on the track, the National Guard Panther Racing car definitely came alive. So for us, that indicates the direction that we need to go in. So while the result today in Edmonton isn’t as positive as we would have liked, there’s certainly some information that we can build upon and for me personally, the physical training that I’ve done this year has definitely paid off because that was pretty much a green race today.”

- Panther Racing Press Release