Buddy Rice Joins Panther for Indy

SPEEDTV.com reports that Buddy Rice will partner with J.R. Hildebrand next month for Panther Racing in the Indy 500.

“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 Hildebrand 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."