Pippa Mann Set for Indy 500 Return with Dale Coyne Racing

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer

Danica Patrick won’t be the only fast female attempting to qualify her way into the Indianapolis 500 field this year. Pippa Mann’s coming back for her seventh Month of May.

Mann announced on her personal website Tuesday that she’ll return to Dale Coyne Racing this May, attempting to qualify for the 102^nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. Mann, 34, will pilot the No. 63 Honda with sponsorship from 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,” Mann said in a release. “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.”

A native of London, England, Mann made her Indy car debut in 2009, running the complete season in the Mazda Road to Indy’s top level – Indy Lights. She returned for a 12-race effort the following year, earning her first-career win at Kentucky Speedway before finishing fifth in the standings.

Conquest Racing gave Mann her first shot in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2011, fielding the Briton in the Indy 500, where she finished a respectable 20^th.

In the years since Mann has driven part-time on the tour, making a combined 16 starts from her 2011 debut through the 2017 Indy 500. Her career-best finish in the series is 13^th, coming at both Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway in 2015. Last season’s 17^th-place run in Indy served as her best result to date in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’

The upcoming Indy 500 will mark her sixth-straight season competing in the event for Dale Coyne Racing. She’s the fourth confirmed entrant for the team, joining Sebastien Bourdais, Pietro Fittipaldi and Conor Daly, who is running in a partnership between DCR and Thom Burns Racing.

“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,” Team Owner Dale Coyne said. “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.”

The Indy 500 is scheduled for May 27.