After his objective of obtaining a seat in Championship Auto Racing Teams (later Champ Car World Series) went unfulfilled, he began his association with the rival Indy Racing League (IRL) by joining Panther Racing as its test driver in June 2002. He brought capital to the team and drove their second car for the final two races of the 2002 season. Wheldon qualified seventh in the No. 7 Dallara IR02 Chevrolet V8 and finished tenth in his first IRL race, the Delphi Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. He came 15th in the season-closing Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway to finish his two-race campaign 36th in the points standings with 35 points accrued. When funding for a second Panther Racing car fell through, Andretti Green Racing (AGR) co-owner Kim Green contacted Wheldon in October and asked him to test its IRL car and develop its Honda engine at Homestead–Miami Speedway the following month. Wheldon was signed to be the team's test driver in November as they sought sponsorship to enable his participation in the 2003 season.