Watkins Glen: Panther Racing preview

Panther Returns to Road Courses this Weekend at Scenic Watkins Glen

IZOD IndyCar Series Enters String of Non-Oval Events Starting This Weekend in Upstate New York

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - (July 1, 2010) -- The IZOD IndyCar Series makes its return to road and street course events beginning this weekend at the scenic Watkins Glen International Raceway in upstate New York. The Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen will be held this Sunday, and brings both Panther Racing and National Guard driver Dan Wheldon back to one of the most exciting stops on the IndyCar Series schedule.

Wheldon finished fifth in his first start at Watkins, but more importantly for the former Indy 500 winner, the Top Five result secured him the 2005 IndyCar Series championship. For his career, the Briton has made five starts on the 11-turn, 3.37-mile road course and has recorded three Top Tens and a Top Five finish. In his first start here with Panther, Wheldon started 11th and finished 10th driving Panther's National Guard entry.

The team's No. 4 car will remain in its camo, orange and black livery for this weekend's Fourth of July event.

Panther has had seven starts at The Glen, with a best finish of second place posted by former driver Vitor Meira in 2006. Meira's qualification effort of eighth the same season also marked the team's best qualification effort at the track. Meira returned to lead the race for Panther in 2008 but was taken out by EJ Viso while running in sixth position.

The Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen will be broadcast live on Sunday, July 4th on ABC, with additional coverage provided by www.indycar.com, the IMS Radio Network and XM Channel 145 and Sirius channel 211.

Dan Wheldon, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda

"Watkins Glen is honestly one of my favorite tracks on our schedule. There's so much history involved with this place, and there've been so many great races here. It's a very challenging track -- both from a driving and an engineering standpoint to get the car right. The track has a lot of undulations and can be really fun to drive. It's also a very exciting race for the fans because you'll see a lot of overtaking during the race and that's something that makes the IZOD IndyCar Series so competitive. I'm excited to get out tomorrow with the National Guard boys; were really strong here last year, it just seems we got caught out a bit on strategy, but everybody's been working hard and I know we'll have a good racecar."

SGT Brois III Named Panther's Hometown Hero for Watkins Glen Race Weekend

Panther Racing's "Hometown Hero" for this weekend's Camping World GP at the Glen is New York National Guard SGT John Adam Brois III, who originally joined the U.S. Army in July of 1995 as a 13B Cannon Crewmember and attended Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After being honorably discharged from active service in December 1997, but enlisted in the New York National Guard in 2001 with the 1/108th Infantry in Hornell, New York.

He served at Ground Zero after the September 11th terrorist attack and spent many months on the bridge and tunnel duty following the disaster. He also volunteered to go to Iraq in October 2004 for a year-long deployment in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he joined Echo troop 2/101 Cavalry from Geneva, New York.

SGT Brois III will attend this weekend's IZOD IndyCar Series autograph session, where he will sign a specialty-made "Hero Card" featuring his picture and biography on one side and Wheldon's on the other. He will also be honored by Panther CEO John Barnes on Sunday prior to the race and then will be recognized on the pre-race stage before the start of the Camping World GP at the Glen.

Currently, he is the Mortar Platoon Sergeant with A troop 2/101 cavalry (formally Echo troop) and employed by the Steuben Country Sheriff's Department as a Correction Officer with nine years of service.

-source: panther racing