Despite Hornish's back-to-back titles in Pennzoil colours in 2001-02, Panther Racing was one of the major casualties as AGR, Ganassi and Penske rose to power in the IRL, and had actually closed its doors two years ago, but still took to the track after signing Vitor meira, the man seemingly most likely to take a podium without winning, having come off worst in several of the championship's closest finishes. Although its flirted with Kosuke Matsuura alongside Meira in 2007, only the Brazilian remains on board this season, but the team has attracted the backing of Delphi and National Guard for its latest assault.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, meanwhile, will continue to run two cars, although the second will be split between the under-rated - and under-used - Townsend Bell and Venezuelan model-cum-ace student Milka Duno. Buddy Rice will return to pilot the lead machine, the former Indy 500 winner hoping to recapture former glories while hauling D&R towards the front of the field.
“I definitely think we can improve on where we were at last year,” Rice said, “Obviously, we started off a bit rocky but, as things were progressing, you could see that we were making headway. I think we stand to be in a lot better situation this year.”
Briton Darren Manning provides continuity for Foyt, having been hired to fill the seat in the 'family' team vacated by AJ Foyt IV. Like Hunter-Reay, the likeable Yorkshireman could be a dark horse if he and the team can build on their 2007 introduction.
"Last year, we came away from most weekends wishing we could start the weekend over because we had learned so much about the car, and what I want in a car," Manning said, "With the compressed schedule, we were doing most of our development work on race weekends. We now have a baseline to work from for all of the tracks, which will help tremendously,"
![Dan Wheldon - Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Marco Andretti - Andretti Green Racing, Homestead Open Testing [Pic credit: IndyCar Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/410802.jpg)
