Panther eyeing Briscoe for 3-year deal?

Ryan Briscoe

Ryan Briscoe is back driving for Panther Racing at this weekend’s IndyCar Series race in Toronto, and it looks more and more like that’s a pairing for the 2014 season.

The Toronto doubleheader will be Briscoe’s fifth and sixth races with Panther since JR Hildebrand was released following an early crash in the Indianapolis 500. Oriol Servia drove the car in the other two.

Team owner John Barnes has said there are as many as six candidates to drive the No. 4 car next season, but Barnes said this week that he will not rob another IndyCar team of its driver.

Briscoe likely gets the nod over Servia because he’s seven years younger — Briscoe will be 32 in September — and has won six more IndyCar races, all more recently.

Barnes said he hopes to have a three-year contract with the team’s next driver. More at Indy Star