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Panther Drivers in Camo Uniforms for Race
For the Watkins Glen race, held on Fourth of July weekend, all three of Panther Racing’s driver will be in camouflage firesuits. IndyCar Series driver Vitor Meira will join Firestone Indy Lights drivers Brent Sherman and Dillon Battistini in the camo suits, which were made from nomex fabric supplied by the National Guard, putting the team’s drivers in the exact same material worn by the soldiers. Battistini, the only member of the team not sponsored by the National Guard and Delphi, will see his No. 15 car get a special paint-out this weekend, so he too will be showcasing the red, white and blue colors of the National Guard.
Local Guardsmen SSG Weidlich Puts Real “Hero” in Hero Card
At every race this season, Panther Racing is putting a real “hero” on their Hero Cards (driver autograph cards) in an effort to honor a local member of the Army National Guard. In each race market, the local division of the National Guard selects a “hero” to represent the National Guard in each state. The hero has his photo and biography printed on the back of each driver autograph card and sits next to Meira at the driver autograph sessions, signing his side of the card along with Panther’s veteran driver.
SSG Joseph Weidlich, an Iraq war veteran, trasfered to the NY Army National Guard in 2005, and is currently an Active Guard and Reserve soldier serving as the unit Supply Sergeant. His military career started in 1989 as a Marine and he served in Iraq in 2004 with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion and earned both his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida.
Local 53rd Troop Command Honored with Decal
During the Watkins Glen race, Panther will be honoring the 53rd Troop Command, the administrative headquarters of the New York Army National Guard. A decal of the 53rd Troop Command insignia will be placed on the nose of Meira’s No. 4 Delphi National Guard Dallara and the No. 15 and No. 16 National Guard Delphi Indy Lights machines of Battistini and Sherman for the weekend.
Meira, Panther on a Misson ….
Panther has been busy since the Army National Guard signed a primary sponsor this season. Team officials and driver Vitor Meira have been around the world visiting some of the Guard’s most prominent sites, and the team has also met with many current – and injured – soldiers.
- In April, Meira visited Indiana National Guard base Camp Atterbury, where he met with soldiers and was able to “play” with many wartime simulators, automatic weapons and training tools.
- Two weeks later, during an off Monday in May, the team traveled to Washington DC to visit the National Guard Museum, Arlington National Cemetery and had a private meeting in the Pentagon with National Guard LTG Clyde Vaughn and LTG Steven Blum.
- Two days before the IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway, Meira and Panther team owner John Barnes spent the entire day at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas – meeting with injured soldiers.
- The week of the Richmond event, Meira and team owner John Barnes were honored at a special ceremony at the Readiness Center in Washington, DC, where a display case with Meira’s firesuit and helmet will be unveiled and put on display at the center
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