Tag: Panther Racing

From the Pocono Pulpit: Forget Snow, Let’s Talk Racing!

Mike Shaw

The off season has been a rather long one—with an even longer off season to follow. Now we have finally found the month of March. For many sports fans it is all about “brackets” they will never get right, and college hoops. But for those of us, who crave ethanol fumes, rubber dust in our hair, and ringing ear drums on Mondays—it’s all about the streets of St. Petersburg. The season we have all waited for, whilst snowed in like Eskimos is almost upon us.   It means I will…

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The Missed Shift – V is for…

John Olsakovsky

The Void of the Offseason Now that the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is over and the dust has settled, there’s a bit of a lull. The Winter Olympics has filled that void somewhat. I think it’s interesting and a bit comforting to hear Leigh Diffey calling the sliding events (Luge, Bobsled, Skeleton) on NBCSN. There’s a tight bond between the racing community and bobsledding, at least. Geoff Bodine built bobsleds fr the U.S. Olympic Team. Now, the foundation that helps fund the team is Bobby Rahal, who I’m sure…

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Indy Hump Day Report, On the bubble: National Guard Cash?

Mike Shaw

Could Panther be looking for a new sponsor in 2012? (All views expressed are those of Spike Rogan, and not that of OpenPaddock.net) If Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota has her way, YES! Representative McCollum has proposed cutting the Department of Defense (DoD) spending on sponsorships. Mainly on auto racing. We learned last year that Panther has received about $30 million (over three seasons) of U.S. Tax Dollars from the DoD. We also learned that well over a million dollars was paid in salary to British Citizen, Dan Wheldon. Now the…

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IndyCar – JR Hildebrand Officially Announced for Panther

Doug Patterson

The 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, JR Hildebrand, was announced today as the driver for the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. This comes after a testing session at the Phoenix International Raceway where JR impressed the team, and Al Unser Jr. Some of you may remember my overly exuberant reaction to Little Al’s tweet from Phoenix. Well, although I might have been a bit premature, it looks like my faith in Al’s nature to tell it like it is wasn’t misplaced. “I couldn’t be more excited to be…

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IndyCar – Panther Secures an American Driver

Doug Patterson

I don’t have much in the way of details here, but I was so excited that I couldn’t wait. Al Unser, Jr., announced the good news via twitter this evening that the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, J.R. Hildebrand, will be piloting the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. Hi Everyone! JR Hildebrand is in the car for Panther. He tested all day and did a GREAT JOB! He is going to be one too watch in 2011!!! — Al Unser, Jr. via Twitter. This is fantastic! Ever since…

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