Panther files Indy 500 entries

Taylor, 26, is the reigning Infiniti Pro Series champion and, having won the title with Panther, is sticking with the squad this season for a full year if the IRL IndyCar Series. He finished 12th in the last race at Phoenix.

South African Scheckter, meanwhile, will be making his third Indy 500 start having finished a career-best fourth in last year's blue-riband event. In his first two Indy 500 starts, he has led 148 laps of the great race.

Panther Racing, which won IRL IndyCar titles in 2001 and '02, has also entered a car for an as yet unnamed driver.

Patrick Racing's entry for double Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr and NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Robby Gordon's Team Gordon entry have also been confirmed.

Unser won the event in 1992 and '94, and this year's race will be his first start of the season. He will continue in the rest of the IRL with Patrick Racing, which has defected from the Champ Car World Series.

Gordon's best finish in 10 starts is fourth back in 1999, and he will again attempt to contest both the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte on the same day, May 30.