RICHMOND, VA — Panther Racing and IRL IndyCar Series rookie Mark Taylor have announced they will part ways. Yesterday, the team announced that it will seek other options for the remainder of the season, effective this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

Taylor, the 2003 IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series champion, competed in the No. 2 Panther Racing Menards/Johns Manville Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone entry for the first six races of the season with a best finish of 12th (March 21 at Phoenix) and a best starting position of third (June 25 at Richmond).

Panther Racing did not announce a driver for the July 4 Argent Mortgage Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.

According to team co-owner John Barnes, the decision was best for all involved.

“Mark Taylor has done everything we have asked him to do over the past 18 months he has been part of the Panther Racing family,” said Barnes. “However, due to the many pressures of professional auto racing, it is in everyone’s best interest that we look in different directions.”

Team co-owner Gary Pedigo echoed Barnes’ sentiments and noted: “The IndyCar Series has become one of the toughest championships a driver can contest, and the rules limiting team testing have made the learning curve very, very steep for a rookie in this series,” Pedigo said. “Mark has done an outstanding job of getting the car up front in several races and has turned some very quick laps in a short amount of time. Mark is a very bright, personable and talented young driver and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Panther Racing said it will make an announcement on a driver for the Kansas race at a later time.

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