[Dale Coyne Racing Press Release]
Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Pippa Mann will again race in the Indianapolis 500 with Dale Coyne Racing. For the second consecutive year, she will be driving in her familiar pink gear as she races in support of Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, and its mission to end breast cancer forever.
The 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be Mann’s third with Dale Coyne Racing and the fourth time she has raced at “The Brickyard” in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Over the past year, Mann has become more deeply involved in the breast cancer movement both nationally and in Central Indiana, and considers it a privilege to race for the millions of women and men battling breast cancer.
“It was an honor last year to be able to partner with Susan G. Komen,” said Mann. “By bringing Komen’s iconic images and colors to the Indy 500, we were able to promote its cause, while raising funds and awareness for Komen’s mission.”
Mann continued, “The last time I strapped into a race car may have been last May, but I feel very fortunate to have had such strong support from the Dale Coyne Racing team and from Team Owner Dale Coyne over the past 12 months. We are all thrilled to bring this pink program back for a second year running.”
Mann qualified a personal best 22nd in the 2014 Indianapolis 500, a position she hopes to better this year. After a mechanical issue forced an extra stop and a slow lap in last year’s race, Mann finished the race in 24th position, also a position she hopes to improve upon.
“There is nothing that makes our team prouder than to represent Susan G. Komen and all of the hard work that goes into the organization’s efforts both in the U.S. and around the world,” commented Dale Coyne. “Pippa is extremely dedicated to her efforts as a driver at Indy and we look forward to our continued success with this partnership.”
“Pippa’s passion for our cause inspires us all,” said Komen President and CEO Judy Salerno, M.D., M.S. “Whether on the track or out in the community, her commitment to raising awareness and funds brings us one step closer to a world without breast cancer.”
Fans can expect to see Mann in and around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway garages the first weekend of May when race participants take part in a May 3 test session. This day will not only be opening day for the speedway, but will also be the debut of the Honda Racing speedway aero kit. In an effort to increase awareness and donations from last year’s fundraising, 2015 will bring supporters a new, interactive campaign that will allow them to get involved. This new campaign will bring fans closer to the action and assist Komen as it works toward its mission of finding the cures.
Fastest 33 
I don’t have a really good count on the actual number of entries but it looks like there will be a few more than the last couple of years. This could put a strain on availability of new aero kits. If so you can be sure that Penske, Ganassi and Andretti wil get as many as they want. Do you know if an entrant can use the old spec aero kit? This may be moot because the old configuration is probably substantially slower. Even worse what would happen if the old spec kits were faster? I remember many years ago when Tom Sneva practiced without a rear wing and the car was faster without appreciable loss of handling. The powers that be made him replace and he tried it “flat” with similar effect and they then mandated a minimum attack slope.
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I am 99.9% sure that the new kits will be faster than the spec kit. I suppose a team could go that route if they run out of pieces, but they might be black flagged at Indy if they are off the pace by a significant margin.
I was expecting 35 entries this year, until the news about BHA and Jay Howard retracting. I think we’ll have 34 this year.
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