Pippa Mann enters Indy 500 with Clauson-Marshall

By Feb 27, 2019, 4:34 PM EST
IndyCar
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Pippa Mann added her name to the 103td Indy 500 entry list on Tuesday with an announcement from Clauson-Marshall Racing.

Partnering with Ross Motorsports, this will be the first time Clauson-Marshall has entered the prestigious race, which will be run on May 26, 2019 and televised on NBC.

“I am so thankful for this opportunity to join Clauson-Marshall Racing for their first Indianapolis 500,” Mann said in a press release. “This is more than just a car entry to me and the journey has been an emotional one. Carrying the #39 on my Chevy entry is an honor that I don’t take lightly, and I’m grateful to Tim Clauson, Richard Marshall and Stanley Ross for believing in me.”

 

Founded in 2016 in memory of USAC Midget and Sprint Car champion Bryan Clauson, the Driven2SaveLives team has been dedicated to the cause of organ donation since the beginning. After losing his life in a Midget race in 2016, Clauson’s organs saved five lives and healed many others.

Mann has made six Indy 500 starts with a best finish of 17th in her most recent appearance in 2017.

Mann’s last four starts in the 500 came with breast cancer awareness and the Susan G Komen Foundation adorning her livery.

Bryan Clauson made three Indy 500 starts before his fatal accident.

“In 2012, it was a privilege to come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a dad to a driver who was competing in his first Indy 500,” said Tim Clauson. “Now, we are honored to have an entry in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. We are especially honored to partner with Driven2SaveLives, after organ and tissue donation became an important part of our lives in 2016.

“Merging our dirt programs with the Indy 500 program is very important to our future, and we are fortunate to have Pippa Mann behind the wheel. After watching the way she handled the circumstances of last year with such grace, we were sure that if we could help her return to the speedway, we would.”

Clauson finished 30th in 2012. His best finish was a 23rd in 2016.

Driven2SaveLives is an Indiana Donor Network campaign to raise awareness around the need for organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation.

With more than 114,000 people currently waiting on an organ transplant, raising awareness is critical. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and impact up to 75 others.

An estimated 20 patients die each day because they did not receive an organ in time, including the legendary NASCAR artist Sam Bass.

“We’re pleased to see Indiana Donor Network continue its involvement in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, especially after our successful partnership last year in the inaugural Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink at the dirt track,” said IMS President J. Douglas Boles. “It’s even more gratifying to see Indiana Donor Network’s relationship with Clauson-Marshall Racing grow into support that is helping one of USAC’s best race teams climb to the Indy 500 and continue the legacy of Bryan Clauson both on short tracks and at the Speedway.”

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

JOSEF’S FAMILY TIES: Newgarden wins Indy 500 with wisdom of father, wife

“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”