Panthers & Dragons

Panther Racing’s Vitor Meira and Luczo Dragon Racing’s Tomas Scheckter are at opposite ends of the spectrum, personality-wise. Meira is the quiet gentleman while Scheckter is loud and flamboyant.

They are even more polar opposites in terms of driving style. Meira is patient and allows the race to come to him. Scheckter is rambunctious and surges to the front.

Despite their differences, they do have one thing in common: aspirations of winning the Indianapolis 500.

Meira, who replaced Scheckter at Panther Racing in 2006, is making his sixth Indy start. Despite never winning an IndyCar event, he has been fast no matter the team he drove for.

Meira made his Indy 500 debut in 2003 driving for John Menard. He had a quiet month and started near the back of the pack. But a persistent Meira moved up the field and rallied for a 12th-place finish. That would be Meira’s worst Indy finish thus far.

Since 2003, Meira has four top-10 finishes, including runner-up to Dan Wheldon in 2005 when he drove for Rahal-Letterman.

2008 will be Meira’s third season with Panther as he aspires to improve on his pair of 10th-place finishes. Meira will roll off the starting grid in 8th place, which is not his best start, but is impressive in that he is the highest starting driver not driving for Ganassi, Penske or Andretti.

So, hats off Vitor. You have already won the moral victory. Next it is time for the biggest victory of them all.

And then there is Scheckter.

Scheckter is a special breed in terms of a race car driver. He expels excitement, exuberance, and aptitude. Unfortunately, patience and composure are two virtues that have set sail.

It is no coincidence that Scheckter will be starting his seventh Indy 500 with his fifth different team. During his tenure at Indy, he has had some impressive high to go along with some tumultuous lows. Scheckter led a race-high 85 laps as a rookie driving for Eddie Cheever in 2002 before a crash ended his day 28 laps from the checkered flag. He finished 26th.

Scheckter drove for Chip Ganassi in 2003 and again was the top lap-leader with 63. But just past the 300-mile mark, Scheckter relinquished the lead to Castroneves and had to settle for fourth-place.

His fourth-place finish for Ganassi in 2003 was his best-ever finish until a seventh-place finish in 2007 driving for Vision Racing. He finished 18th in 2004 and crashed out in both 2005 and 2006 (20th and 27th-place finishes).

This year Scheckter is driving for Luczo Dragon Racing, which is co-owned by Jay Penske, the youngest son of 14-time Indy 500 winning car owner Roger Penske. In 2007, LDR leased a car and equipment from Penske for Ryan Briscoe, who drove to a fifth-place finish.

The pressure is mounting for Scheckter. He drove full-time in the IRL for six seasons but could only provide two wins. Now, he has been downgraded to a part-time driver based on inconsistent and lackluster results. He was fired from Red Bull Cheever, Ganassi, Panther and Vision Racing in a matter of six years.

Is that so shocking?

His resume speaks for itself. From 2002-2007, he started 92 races with 40 DNFs. That is no way to impress some of the hard-nosed owners in the business in Eddie Cheever, Chip Ganassi and Tony George.

Despite his failures early in his career, it appears Scheckter has finally started to curb his immaturity behind the wheel. He competed in 61 races for Cheever, Ganassi and Panther which resulted in 31 DNFs, or 51%. During his two-year stint with Vision Racing, that number improved; 32 starts, 8 DNFs, 25%.

Nevertheless, he was still out of a job. Yet somehow Scheckter finds himself with a polished gem of a team with financial stability and a fast car. Scheckter needs to prove to the racing world he is capable of holding it together for 200 laps because the IRL needs Scheckter more than anybody would like to admit.

WHY A PANTHER OR DRAGON WILL WIN:

Meira and Scheckter are both long shots to win because they do not drive for Ganassi, Penske or Andretti. Nevertheless, this is May. This is the Indy 500 and anything can happen. Both drivers have shown glimpses of their capabilities. Meira finished 2nd in 2005 and Scheckter has led 148 laps in their respective Indy 500 experiences. A few modifications here and there and each of these drivers could already be imprinted on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

Of Meira and Scheckter, Scheckter is probably the odds-on favorite to win because of his aggressiveness and killer instinct, but that is reluctantly why Meira will get the best of Scheckter come race day.

Panther beats Dragon.