Menard merges with Panther.

Two of the Indy Racing League's longest serving teams will merge in 2004 after Panther Racing announced that it had bought much of the assets and equipment of Team Menard in order to run a second full-time entry in next year's IRL IndyCar Series.

John Menard has been added as a partner in Panther Racing LLC although it is believed that he will now spend more of his time supporting son Paul Menard in his quest to get to the NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Series. Menards is expected to stay on as a sponsor of the second Panther entry.

The move virtually guarantees that Panther finally gets to add a second car to their stable after several unsuccessful attempts to give Sam Hornish Jr a permanent teammate. Although Hornish Jr has now left to join Penske, new Panther signing Tomas Scheckter looks increasingly like being partnered by current Infiniti Pro Series Champion Mark Taylor next year after Panther confirmed that they would not be running an IPS team next season.

"John Menard and Panther Racing have been long-time IRL supporters and we have shared a lot of common interests over the last few years - particularly our relationship with General Motors and Chevrolet," said Panther Racing co-owner and President John Barnes. "As we enter the 2004 season, we believe we will provide our sponsors and suppliers a much stronger force on the track having John Menard as part of the Panther Racing family."

"The Panther Racing merger and our Menard store's new partnership with the Menard's Infiniti Series will continue our tradition and participation in the Indy Racing League's great American sport of open-wheel racing," said Menard.

Panther Racing will make an announcement about the sponsors and the driver for the second entry in the near future.

Between them, Panther Racing and Team Menard have won four overall IRL Championships, 24 individual race wins, 29 pole positions and led more than 5400 laps.