Firestone Indy Lights rookie Brent Sherman got his first taste of an IndyCar Series machine following the Kansas round, but failed in an audacious bid to run the Indianapolis 500 later this month.
The NASCAR convert shared Panther Racing's #4 Dallara with regular driver Vitor Meira, becoming the latest feeder series driver to drive an IndyCar machine thanks to the Indy Lights bonus testing programme, which grants extra test days to teams that field full-time entries in both championships.
The test concluded a busy weekend for Sherman, whose IL team picked up primary sponsorship from the National Guard for the remainder of the 2008 season. National Guard, which features on Dale Earnhardt Jr's Sprint Cup car, also backs Meira in the IndyCar Series.
"It was really good," he revealed, "It is a great programme.
"I didn't really know what to expect, but it was nice to be able to get some laps in the Indy Lights car and then turn around the next day and have it still fresh in my head. And it was -- I'd have to say, for me, it went better than expected. We were up to speed fairly quickly on the first run, although I didn't know how much feedback I'd be able to give to the team and how much I'd really actually be able to help them.
"But they dialled some downforce in and we were able to take some of that away and really get a feel for what the car wanted and what the car needed to handle better. And we made some changes, so it was good. It was more than just running around there, them giving me laps. We were actually able to make some changes and I was able to get a really good feel for what the car was like."
Sherman returns to the race track at the end of May when the Firestone Indy Lights series contests the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis, but revealed that he tried to land a ride in the blue riband IndyCar Series race as well.
![Vitor Meira - Panther Racing, Homestead Open Testing [Pic credit: IndyCar Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/410779.jpg)
