Pippa Mann Returns to DCR for Indy 500, Partners with Donate Life Indiana
Pippa Mann Livery |
Pippa Mann is returning to Dale Coyne Racing for this year’s Indianapolis 500 but with a different look. The popular driver will be shedding her traditional pink livery on her #63 machine for the colors of new primary sponsor Donate Life Indiana.
Mann’s entry will be a fourth for Dale Coyne Racing this May. The team is also fielding a car for Sebastien Bourdais (#18 Team SealMaster, Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan), Pietro Fittipaldi (#19 Paysafe, Dale Coyne Racing) and Conor Daly (#17 U.S. Air Force, Dale Coyne Racing with Thom Burns Racing). The 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil will mark the sixth consecutive year that Mann joins DCR for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Mann, the unofficial record-holder for the fastest lap by a female at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will be looking to make her seventh Indy 500 start on May 27th in a livery that prominently features a sleek Donate Life Indiana logo, with a touch of her usual pink on the mirrors and the #63 decals.
Tuesday’s reveal kicked off an initiative to educate new drivers about donor registration. In her role as a spokesperson for Donate Life Indiana (DLI), Mann seeks to increase awareness for the organization’s youth education initiatives in Indiana which highlights organ, tissue and eye donor registration. She will be going into schools speaking to students and teachers and educating them on the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation as well as driver’s education classes. This marks an ongoing partnership.
“Our education team is committed to partnering with Pippa and students and teachers across the state to bring the message of organ donation and transplantation to as many students as possible," said Steve Johnson, Board Chairman for Donate Life Indiana.
“I am honored to have been asked to drive the Donate Life car this May, and to partner with Donate Life Indiana as an ambassador to raise awareness on our mission to help reach even more Hoosiers through our education efforts," said Mann. “This is obviously a campaign with a pretty deep personal meaning for me, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to join the racers carrying this cause forward.
“I also want to thank Dale and Gail Coyne for once again giving me this opportunity to pilot one of their entries this May. This will be my sixth year with Dale Coyne Racing and I’m truly grateful that they allow me to do this every year," concluded Mann.
It is Donate Life Indiana’s mission and responsibility that when Hoosiers go into the BMV they are equipped to answer the donor registration question. This is particularly important for young people to understand, as they will typically visit the BMV three times between the ages of 15 and 21.
Additionally, Mann and DLI hope the campaign encourages more teacher partnerships to educating students about donation and transplantation inside classrooms.
“We’re very happy to welcome Donate Life Indiana to the team through their partnership with Pippa. It will certainly be different to see her in new colors this May, but it’s also very exciting," expressed Team Owner Dale Coyne. “We’re looking forward to working with Pippa and Donate Life Indiana with their mission of educating new drivers about the importance of donor registration. We also look forward to having Pippa back in the #63 car this May."
Mann scored her best result at the Indianapolis 500 with Dale Coyne Racing at last year’s event with a 17th place finish. She’ll be getting her first taste of the new Universal Aero Kit on her Honda-powered Dallara when practice kicks off Indy 500 activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 15, 2018.
View the video reveal announcing Pippa’s support and learn more here:
DonateLifeIndiana.org/media – download images and photos of the reveal.
DonateLifeIndiana.org/pippa – more information on the campaign.