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Panther Racing signs Rice for Indy 500

Indy 500

Story Highlights

  • Buddy Rice will return to Indianpolis in May
  • 2004 Indy 500 signed by Panther Racing
  • Rice to team with rookie Hildebrand

Panther Signs Former Indy Winner Buddy Rice for 95th Indianapolis 500
American Teams with JR Hildebrand in No. 44 Entry for Greatest Spectacle in Racing

I'm pumped to be at Panther... I'm here to help JR and help the team.

Buddy Rice

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (April 28, 2010) -- Panther Racing announced today it has signed 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice to drive the team's No. 44 entry in the 100th Anniversary of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Rice will be making a return to the IZOD IndyCar Series after a two-year hiatus and will team with league rookie JR Hildebrand, driver of the team's No. 4 National Guard entry, to solidify Panther's Indianapolis effort. The team has finished runner-up in three consecutive Indy 500s, in 2008 with Vitor Meira and in 2009-2010 withformer Indianapolis champion Dan Wheldon.

"I'm pumped to be at Panther, and the intention is that we'll be able to run more than Indy, but this is the first step, and I'm here to help JR and help the team," Rice said. "The whole key for me coming back is that I wanted to be in competitive equipment and have a chance to win. I didn't want to come back to Indy just to pound out laps, and given how competitive the series has become that's how it has to be. I've had offers in the past that didn't work out for different reasons, and I wasn't coming back and driving unless I had the chance to run up front -- that's always been my goal. Panther is a team that can win the race so when I had the opportunity, I couldn't say no."

Buddy Rice, 2008
Buddy Rice, 2008

Photo by: Covy Moore

Rice becomes the third former Indy 500 winner to drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Panther, joining Buddy Lazier and Dan Wheldon. Rice last competed in the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2008 with Dreyer & Reinbold, and won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 while driving for Rahal-Letterman Racing. He has made a total of 97 IndyCar Series starts, with three victories, five pole positions and finished a career-high third in the championship in 2004.

"Buddy and I have talked for years about him joining the team and never had an opportunity that aligned itself, so when this came about to run a second car at the Speedway, he was high on our list and he was excited about being a part of Panther," Panther Managing Partner and CEO John Barnes said. "He's going to make a huge impact on JR and his development, and from the time we decided Hildebrand was the future of our team we wanted to bring along a mentor and somebody that could help our entire team, and when the opportunity came along with Buddy, it was a no-brainer for us. We hope this isn't a one-and-done thing; we want Buddy for more races this season, and we feel this opportunity is a win-win for all of us."

Hildebrand had reached out to Rice on more than one occasion earlier in the season about helping the team in some capacity, and the 23-year-old Californian was instrumental in ensuring Rice was his teammate for his first experience in the Indianapolis 500.

"I'm super excited to have Buddy on board," Hildebrand said. "He's a guy that from the beginning of this year I've been pursuing to come help myself and Panther. Having him as a teammate at Indy is the best case scenario; he's a guy that for his accomplishments and his attitude is a guy I've always admired and thought that he took things very seriously and has been known to be a good teammate. All those things for me personally make it even more exciting to have him on board with Panther. It will really hit when we actually show up to Indianapolis. I definitely never would have thought when I was young that I'd have an opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500. To be in a position with a team that's capable of winning at Indy and with a teammate that's done it before, it's just a crazy circumstance when you really think about it and I'm really looking forward to the month of May."

J.R. Hildebrand, Panther Racing
J.R. Hildebrand, Panther Racing

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Hildebrand is the current leader in the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year standings and will become the first rookie to start in the Indy 500 for Panther since Tomas Enge in 2005. Rice, who owns a Tony Kart go-kart race team, is more than happy to do anything he can to assist Hildebrand's development. Former Panther driver Vitor Meira, who worked with Rice at Rahal-Letterman, often referred to Rice as one of the best teammates he ever had.

"I own my own go-kart team and I like helping out young drivers and seeing them develop," Rice said. "For me to deal with JR, we have some mutual friends and my reputation as a teammate has been good, so I'm excited about it and I like the challenge. I'm looking forward to helping him out and helping him grow. I've been in JR's shoes before and I feel like I have a lot to offer especially because he's a kid who wants to learn and I feel like I have some insight and it will be great to help him out and be a part of Panther."

Sponsorship details for Rice's No. 44 car will be announced at a later date.

-source: panther racing

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