For the first time in two decades, a full-time USAC team will field an entry in the Indianapolis 500. This isn’t just any team either. Championship owners Tim Clauson and Richard Marshall are making the jump with Pippa Mann this May, with support from Driven2SaveLives and Chevrolet. Mann was teammates with the late Bryan Clauson in the 2016 race.

Pippa will make her eighth attempt at the Indianapolis 500, after missing out on the Greatest Spectacle in Racing last year. She will be behind the wheel of the No. 39 car, a number that means so much to the Clauson family. It will be an uphill battle for the team, making their debut at Indianapolis. There will likely be 35-38 entries in this year’s race, so multiple entries will not see the green flag on May 26. The full press release from today is below.

[Clauson-Marshall Racing Press Release]

Today, Clauson-Marshall Racing, the United States Auto Club National sprint car champion team, announced they are partnering with Ross Motorsports, Indiana Donor Network and their Driven2SaveLives campaign to field an entry for the 2019 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 26, 2019. IndyCar Driver Pippa Mann will pilot the #39 Driven2SaveLives Clauson-Marshall Racing Chevrolet. Representatives from Clauson-Marshall Racing, Indiana Donor Network and Indianapolis Motor Speedway joined Mann today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to announce the entry and unveil the car.

This is the first year Clauson-Marshall Racing will participate in the Indianapolis 500. The team was founded in 2016 in memory of beloved IndyCar driver and USAC champion Bryan Clauson by his father, Tim Clauson, and Richard Marshall. Bryan died in 2016 in a racing accident and as a registered organ and tissue donor, he saved five lives and healed countless others. Pippa Mann was a former teammate of Bryan’s.

“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. 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,” said Tim Clauson, co-owner of Clauson-Marshall Racing. He added, “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.”

Driven2SaveLives is an Indiana Donor Network campaign to raise awareness around the need for organ, tissue and eye donation and transplantation. Nationwide, more than 114,000 men, women and children are currently waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. Tragically, 20 patients die each day because the organ they needed did not become available in time.

One donor can save up to eight lives through organ donation and heal up to 75 people through tissue and cornea donation. Registering as a donor takes less than 30 seconds at the BMV or at RegisterMe.org.

“Over the past four years, Driven2SaveLives has become a beacon of hope for patients waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. We are excited to partner with Clauson-Marshall Racing this year to spread the donation message far and wide,” said Kellie Hanner, Indiana Donor Network president and chief executive officer.

Pippa Mann stated, “I am so thankful for this opportunity to join Clauson-Marshall Racing for their first Indianapolis 500. This is more than just a car entry to me and the journey has been an emotional one. Carrying the #39, and the Driven2SaveLives campaign 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.”

“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.”