Servia finishes 17th in Pink Camo Chevrolet Friday during Mid-Ohio practice

LEXINGTON, Ohio - (August 2, 2013) – National Guard Panther Racing driver Oriol Servia finished 17th overall during IndyCar Series practice Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Spaniard drove his “Pink Camo” National Guard Chevrolet for a total of 35 laps on the 12-turn, 2.25-mile road course that will host this Sunday’s 90-lap event. Servia posted a top time of 1:06.1330 seconds, which was an average lap speed of 122.916 mph. The team is running its “Pink Camo” livery again this year in honor of female soldiers in the National Guard.

There is another practice session tomorrow morning before the Firestone Fast Six qualifications in the afternoon.

SFC Heath Robinson Named Panther’s Mid-Ohio Hometown Hero:
Panther Racing has named SFC Heath Robinson as its honorary Hometown Hero for the Mid-Ohio race weekend. Panther began its Hometown Hero program in 2008 to help highlight an extraordinary Soldier from each respective state’s National Guard. Each hero participates in the IndyCar Series driver autograph session during the race weekend and sits next to Panther’s driver while signing a specialty-made hero card. The hero also takes an IndyCar Experience two-seater ride, is honored during an awards presentation in the team’s hospitality unit prior to the race and is also recognized on the pre-race stage in front of the crowd prior to the start of the race.

Oriol Servia, No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet:
"We’re only six tenths from P1, but we still ended up 17th, which goes to show you how competitive it is out here. I’m a little disappointed with the position we ended up in because the National Guard Chevy felt great on Tuesday but honestly we were over a second off the top time the first session and cut that deficit in half this session. I’m not unhappy with the car, and I’m not unhappy with how I drove on the track, but it’s just not good enough yet. We just need to hit the perfect balance, especially at Mid-Ohio, because it’s so much about the timing here and one corner sets you up for the next. Obviously guys like (Ryan) Hunter-Reay are doing a great job, but our guys are working hard and we will continue to keep improving.”

Panther Racing