Team identity with numbers is proven Stateside.
* Ganassi refuses to use #1 out of respect to the team's unfortunate stroke of tragedy after the 2003 championship season of Scott Dixon. In an early off-season test, Dixon and Ganassi driver Tony Renna tested tires for Firestone, and Renna was killed in the test. The team didn't win a single race the next season after Dixon went with the #1, so Chip decided not to use #1 after his recent titles.
* Panther's use of #4 was related to one of the partners at the team, current San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, who wore #4 in his NFL and NCAA playing days except for his final year, 2001, in Charlotte; with John Kasay having #4, he wore #14 for A. J. Foyt.
* In 2000, Buddy Lazier won with the Helmegarn #91. Fans wanted the team to keep the #91.
* Foyt, of course, and #14 is identifiable.
The idea of not wearing #1 is an interesting move in recent years, but there's an identity that a car number can mean for a team, as Panther, Foyt, and even Ganassi and Penske have proven.
