1. Winning titles nothing new for Panther Racing’s NFL connection
2. Juncos Racing hoping to build program with Serenelli
3. Texas teen Toppe set to race in USF2000
1. Winning titles nothing new for Panther Racing’s NFL connection: Jim Harbaugh may be in search of his first NFL championship, but the San Francisco 49ers coach has already won three INDYCAR championships as co-owner of Panther Racing.
Panther Racing won the IZOD IndyCar Series titles with Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001 and 2002 and the Firestone Indy Lights title in 2003 with Mark Taylor. All three title-winning cars carried the No. 4, the same number Harbaugh wore when he was quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts.
“Jim has always been a tremendous leader and I’ve said several times he’s the ultimate warrior,” Panther Racing team managing partner John Barnes said. “I can’t think of another family that deserves this honor as much as the Harbaughs – Jim, John and (father) Jack have all been big mentors of mine for a long time.
Harbaugh, 49, is in his third season as coach of the 49ers, who lost to the New York Giants in the 2012 NFC Championship Game. He became involved with Panther Racing after meeting Barnes on a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After helping form the team, Harbaugh worked with the pit crew during IZOD IndyCar Series races and was an integral member of the team in its early years, serving duties such as sign-board man at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and holding the stop-sign board for pit stops. He also would do tasks such as serving as a tire runner or drink bottle guy for the team.
“Jim sometimes jokes about not being as involved in Panther Racing as he was in the early days, but we learn a heck of a lot from how he coaches his team, and the leadership he shows with the 49ers has an impact on a lot of what we do here,” Barnes said. ”
Harbaugh has stated on multiple occasions that the start of the Indy 500 is the “single greatest moment in all of sports” and that the race is “better than Christmas.”
A Panther Racing driver has been runner-up in the 500 Mile Race four of the past five years. His Indianapolis-based teammates hope he’s not the runner-up in the NFL’s big game.
“He challenges his players by being the example that they should achieve, and we’re going to be behind him 100 percent at the Super Bowl,” Barnes said.
2. Juncos Racing hoping to build program with Serenelli:Venezuelan Giancarlo “Gato” Serenelli showed promising results to Juncos Racing as he completed the first test of the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights season last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 2.21 mile road course.
Making his second appearance in a Firestone Indy Lights car, Serenelli, who piloted the No. 45 Juncos Racing machine, completed the two-day test showing progress and confidence. The Venezuelan brings a high level of experience to the series, as he competed in various formula series throughout South America for the past 15 years. Serenelli made his first run in Firestone Indy Lights last October at the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I was able to be very progressive through the two testing days,” Serenelli said. “I worked hard to adapt to the car, it was a little difficult in the beginning, but at the end I was able to make fast laps, even with old tires. I’m very happy with the team, and I worked well with the engineer, and I can see all of the experience he has in the series. I’m confident we will be competitive in the first race.”
Ricardo Juncos, Team Owner, was very pleased with all of the progress Serenelli made with his second run in the Firestone Indy Lights car, and feels confident that his team will be very competitive in their second season in the series.
“I’m very happy with Giancarlo and the way the test went,” Juncos said. “He adapted to the car with no problems through the two testing days, and his progressive was impressive, getting better every time he jumped in the car. He brings a lot of experience from GP2 and Auto GP, and you can see his high level of maturity. I have no doubt he will get to the top with more testing. I’m also very happy with the way the team worked. We have a few new guys on the team, including our new engineer Lee Dykstra who brings a lot of experience and he’s on top of the game. We all here at Juncos Racing are looking forward to a great season in the Firestone Indy Lights series.”
3. Texas teen Toppe set to race in USF2000: JDC MotorSports has added another key piece towards its quest for Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda silverware, with rookie Clarke Toppe joining its 2013 driver line-up.
Enhancing a talented multi-car effort in the Mazda Road to Indy series, the Texas teenager is focused on building the Minnesota team’s already impressive resume.
“Clarke did an awesome job during a team test earlier this month,” added team principal John Church. “He will be a great addition to an already strong lineup this season.”
With a proven track record of helping develop young racers into winners and champions, JDC MotorSports believes it has the opportunity to further continue that trend with 15 year-old Toppe getting behind the wheel of one of its USF2000 Championship entries this coming season.
While the former karting front-runner enters his rookie series campaign with only one season of previous car racing experience under his belt, he has already highlighted his talents and potential in private testing with JDC. As a result, the multiple junior formula car title winning team is confident the Texan will be a key member of its gifted multi-car line-up in the highly-regarded championship, and is poised to be part of the mix for Rookie of the Year honors.
“Signing with JDC MotorSports is the biggest accomplishment of my racing career thus far,” said Toppe. “I’m excited for this step up onto the Mazda Road to Indy ladder. I am very confident that driving with JDC in the USF2000 Championship will be great for my driver development because of the experience they have in the sport. I know that they can put an outstanding car underneath me at all times, on any track.”
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The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season opens with the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg March 24 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The race will be televised live at noon (ET) by the NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM and www.indycar.com. The 2013 Firestone Indy Lights season begins March 23 on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 11 a.m. (ET) on March 24.
Source: INDYCAR, Press Release
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