John Andretti joins Panther for Indy

Andretti will be introduced Wednesday morning at a press conference. A seven-time Indy 500 starter, Andretti hasn't competed in the race since 1994, concentrating instead on NASCAR.

A nephew of Mario Andretti and cousin of Michael Andretti, John Andretti will join Panther's Vitor Meira and Kosuke Matsuura, who qualified Sunday. Andretti will drive the No. 33 Panther Honda/Dallara with sponsorship from Camping World.

"I couldn't think of a better time and a better way to return to the Indianapolis 500," Andretti said. "For me, obviously, growing up in Indiana and with the history of our family at Indianapolis, being able to compete in the Indianapolis 500 again with a championship caliber team like Panther Racing is great."

Andretti has raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 17 times, including 10 Brickyard 400s. His best finish in the Indy 500 was a fifth in 1991. He has competed in 341 Cup races since 1993, with two wins and 13 top-five finishes.

The news comes a day after Roger Yasukawa was confirmed as a third driver for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. There are now 11 confirmed car-driver combinations that have yet to qualify for the May 27 race.

Al Unser Jr, Jaques Lazier, Stephan Gregoire, Marty Roth, Jon Herb and Milka Duno have practiced but have yet to make the field, and Phil Giebler expects to be on track Wednesday with Playa Del Racing. PJ Jones also is expected to attempt to qualify with Team Leader, as is Jimmy Kite in a PDM Racing entry.

In 1994, Andretti was the first driver to attempt to race in the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. If Andretti starts the 500, he will tie Roberto Moreno for the third-longest hiatus between Indy 500s.

Only Roland Free and Cy Marshall, who each had 17 years between races, had longer layoffs between Indy 500s.