Catchfence

Panther Teammates Get Most Significant Running of the Month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – (May 19, 2011) – IZOD IndyCar Series fans were finally treated to a full day of cars on track at the historic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday afternoon. A total of 40 cars took laps in preparation for this weekend’s qualifications that will determine the 33-car starting field for the 100^th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Panther Racing drivers JR Hildebrand and Buddy Rice combined for a total of 80 laps as the teammates will have one more day of practice prior to Saturday’s Pole Day qualifications.

Hildebrand finished in the sixth position on the day with a top lap speed of 226.527 mph, 39.7303 seconds and was fastest amongst the eight rookies who turned laps on the day. Rice finished in the 20^th position with a top lap speed of 225.184 mph, 39.9673 seconds.

Team Penske driver Will Power posted the quickest speed of the month in his No. 12 entry, with a top lap of 227.778 mph and was followed on the charts by Alex Tagliani and teammate Ryan Briscoe.

The 95^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, May 29^th at 12:00 p.m. with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, www.indycar.com, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211.

JR Hildebrand

No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda

Top Speed: 226.527 mph

Top Time: 39.7303 seconds

Number of Laps: 32

Overall Rank: 6^th on speed chart

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“We’re feeling pretty good. Honestly, from Rookie Orientation, it’s gone quite smoothly for us. Obviously everybody at National Guard Panther Racing is a huge piece of that, particularly the strength of the team being the oval program and Indianapolis. Buddy Rice and I are both having a good time getting to know each other and working with theteam and for me learning a bit of a different discipline here on the oval. We’re just trying to chip away at it, and that’s been quite successful for us so far, and we’ve seen very positive results from even some small changes and that’s what we hope to be able to continue to do moving forward.”

Buddy Rice

No. 44 Panther Racing Dallara Honda

Top Speed: 225.184 mph

Top Time: 39.9673 seconds

Number of Laps: 48

Overall Rank: 20^th on speed chart

Buddy Rice, No. 44 Panther Racing Dallara Honda:

“We’re trying to get through a lot of pieces and get a direction. JR’s trying stuff and I’m trying stuff and what we’re really trying to do is get everything put together so when we show up on Saturday we’ve put everything together and have it all happening. We’re trying a lot of different little bits and pieces and really just rubbing on the setup. Panther’s had good setups here before, we’re just making sure it’s to the liking of myself and JR and what we need to do to get our cars comfortable and fast. Once we have that we’re going to be in really good shape come Saturday, and that’s what the goal is right now.”

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com

- Panther Racing, Press Release