Backstretch Motorsports

Concord, NC) — Puzzles solved, two seats filled and one left out for now, with an almost assured announcement to come.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) and Dan Wheldon, driver of the No. 10 Target Honda Dallara in the IndyCar Series, announced today they have agreed to part ways. Dan Wheldon will be returning to Panther Racing’s No. 4 Honda entry

Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced they will be adding former IndyCar Series and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti as a teammate of the 2008 Indy 500 winner and current points leader Scott Dixon, as the driver of the No. 10 Target Honda. In addition, Chip Ganassi Racing and Target announced the details of their joint plans to take their partnership into its 20th season and beyond.

“Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver,” said Franchitti, 35, who has eight victories and 30 top-five finishes in 67 IndyCar Series starts dating to 2002. “You can do almost any form of racing that you want.”

“With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more. Franchitti continued. “I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up. I am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of one of those Target cars and be a teammate to Scott Dixon. Target is a tremendous sponsor and they and Chip always give you everything you need to win.”

The native of Scotland has over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles, 63 top-five and 95 top-10 finishes (1997-2007). Franchitti is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel history from Great Britain. He was part of the winning Rolex 24 At Daytona team this year for Ganassi and also captured the prestigious 12 Hours of Sebring in the LMP2 Class in his first ever American Le Mans Series start in 2007. This creates a team that will have the last two Indy 500 winners as they take the green flag next year in St. Petersburg.

Six years after Dan Wheldon made his IndyCar Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway for Panther Racing, the team announced today it has reached a multi-year agreement to bring the former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion back home to the two-time league champions.

Wheldon and Franchitti were AGR teammates in 2005. After winning the Indianapolis 500 and series title last year, Franchitti signed to compete with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates’ NASCAR program. Franchitti drove in 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup races with a best finish of 22nd before the No. 40 car team was shuttered in July because of a lack of sponsorship. He’s currently 27th in the Nationwide Series standings, competing in 14 races.

“It’s hard to describe the level of excitement and emotions all of us at Panther have knowing that Dan has come back to drive for us,” team Managing Partner and CEO John Barnes said. “I remember watching him drive for the first time in the Indy Lights series years ago, and I knew he was going to be a special talent. Since then he’s become one of the best open-wheel drivers in the world, and for him to make his return to our team at the height of his racing career is a tremendous compliment to our team. I know he’s excited about getting into the No. 4 car for the first time and we’ve got a tremendous future ahead of us.”

“I’m very excited to be joining the entire Panther Racing crew,” Wheldon said. “This is the place where I started my career in 2002 and with the personnel and leadership that John Barnes has put together, I know that we’ll be fighting for outright victories, the Indianapolis 500 title and the league championship. I’m looking forward to when my obligations with my current team have been honored, so I can get with the entire Panther family and start moving towards all of our goals of winning races and championships together. It’s great to be back.”

For his career, Wheldon has amassed 15 IndyCar Series victories; five Poles, 54 Top Five and 72 Top Ten finishes in his 96 starts in the league. His 15 wins rank him third all-time in IndyCar Series history, and his 2,735 laps led are the third most in the history of the series.

Vitor Meira is being displaced by the Panther organization and Wheldon’s return. No word on where the Brazillian will land for the 2009 season.

Panther Racing has not re-signed Meira, but said if sponsorship materializes for a second car in ‘09 he would be welcome back. Meira, who has two top-five finishes this season, is closing out his third year with Panther Racing. He has 56 top-10 finishes in 92 career starts with three teams and said he’s exploring his options.