When the subject is Pippa Mann, resilience and toughness quickly come to mind.
Resilient for her never-ending pursuit to annually cobble together a cast of dedicated partners to put a program in place for the Indianapolis 500.
Tough for not backing down in what is still a male-dominated profession, for coming back from hard crashes to qualify for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” for making a small-budget effort with minimal track time work at Indy.
She’s resilient and tough, yes. But it still didn’t prevent Mann from choking up more than once on Tuesday when she announced Donate Life Indiana would be the primary sponsor on her No. 63 Dale Coyne Racing Honda for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil in May.
The reason is simple. Mann has a special connection to the organization that encourages people to register as organ and tissue donors. His name is Bryan Clauson.
The USAC short-track racing star was an Indy 500 teammate of Mann’s in 2016, less than three months before he tragically died from injuries sustained in a crash at the Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas. But not before Clauson donated organs and tissue that helped the lives of numerous recipients.
Clauson and Mann – from very different worlds – became friends in those short few weeks together in May 2016. So when she was asked to become an ambassador last year for the Indiana Donor Network’s Driven2SaveLives program, she jumped at the chance – as did fellow driver Stefan Wilson to further the memory of late brother Justin, also an organ donor.
Mann has partnered with Donate Life Indiana this year to spearhead its educational program geared at teenagers about to get their first driver’s license. She will speak at high schools and driver’s education programs around Indiana, helping teens to make an educated decision when they are asked during the license application process if they want to be an organ donor.
Mann is involved in the program as a tribute to her friend and teammate Clauson. It was evident when she announced her Indy 500 program on Tuesday and in a must-read blog she posted to her website the same day.
“It’s incredibly personal for me,” Mann said. “It’s bigger than my friendship with Bryan and my friendship with my teammates and Dale Coyne Racing’s relation to organ donation and transplantation through their drivers. It’s bigger than all of us.
“It’s about everybody who’s still on the waiting list. It’s about all of the families who have lost loved ones. And it’s about educating literally people like me, who haven’t been talking about this with their families, so they feel comfortable making that donation decision.”
Getting teens – who so often feel invincible – that their decision to become an organ donor can potentially save the lives of so many others is a cause that Mann said she is “honored” to get behind.
“We can try and insure that Hoosier high school students are able to make an educated decision about donation when they go to the BMV to sign up for their first driver’s licenses,” Mann said. “At a time of tragedy, a donation decision can give hope and save lives. By educating teens and students through this Donate Life program, we hope to save more lives than ever before.”
As for her Indy 500 effort in May, Mann expects more of the same as she attempts to qualify for the big race a seventh time. She won’t participate in testing scheduled next week on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Most of her peers will be there to learn how the 2018 car with its universal aero kit performs on the superspeedway, an opportunity Mann won’t have until the first day of official practice on May 15 – at the earliest.
“There simply isn’t the budget or funding for me to get a lot of extra track time,” Mann said. “I really would love to be part of the test next week, but that’s just not on the cards for my program. So I’m going to have to go in cold, get back up to speed as best I can. But one of the things the partners understand when they support our program is they’re supporting our vision and what we really want to do.”