Panther prevaricates over third Indy entry.

John Barnes, chief executive officer of Pennzoil Panther Racing, was non-committal when asked about the possibility of adding a third car to the team's stable for the Indianapolis 500.

The team, which has won the IRL series championship twice in the past three years, is expected to enter regular pilots Tomas Scheckter and Mark Taylor for the big event, but remains uncertain as to whether to file a third entry.

"I don't know," Barnes said, "We'll make an announcement here soon. We have 'til the 31st to decide that."

Panther has eight Dallara chassis in its shop, according to Barnes, with six already updated to current spec and the others in the process.

Scheckter looks at his switch to Panther Racing as another chance for Victory Lane - and the South African feels that it is about time that his dream came true after two missed opportunities.

"I look at it as another '500,'" Scheckter said from the Panther shop during the 2004 Indianapolis 500 media tour, "I've led it the two times I've entered it. I look at it as the possibility of drinking some milk."

His first two trips to Indy were with Red Bull Team Cheever and Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2002 and 2003, respectively, but yielded only a best place of fourth.

"Here, it's a little more race-oriented, and they're not concerned so much about being on top of the time charts every day," Scheckter said of Panther, which won the IRL championship with Sam Hornish in 2001 and 2002.

Taylor will be making his first assault on the 500, but will be doing so with some familiar faces after some of his title-winning Infiniti Pro Series crew graduated with him.

Engineer Brent Harvey and sub-assemblies/gearbox man Kevin Conley both moved up with the Briton, while the crew chief for the Menards/Johns Manville car is Eric Haverson, who served as the crew chief for Paul Tracy's Team Green entry in 2002, and was a mechanic on Jacques Villeneuve's winning car in 1995.

"I enjoy it," Haverson said of his new assignment to form a crew around Taylor, "You get a chance to get some fresh ideas. It's fun to watch a team gel with some really talented people. Indianapolis holds a soft spot in my heart, for sure. It's certainly the pinnacle for open-wheel racing in the United States."

According to Taylor, the continuity of working with Harvey has helped in his transition to the top flight.

"We had a great rapport last year, and that helps," Taylor said, "That relationship is crucial for any driver in the IndyCar Series."