Daly To Honor Clauson With Tribute Scheme; Mann Back For Pocono
Story By: DALE COYNE RACING MEDIA
Photos By: INDYcar SERIES MEDIA
PLAINFIELD, Ill. – August 17, 2016- To honor the memory of his late Indianapolis 500 teammate Bryan Clauson, Dale Coyne Racing rookie Conor Daly will drive a specially-painted No. 88 BC Forever entry in Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
Clauson, who passed away from injuries sustained in a race incident at the Belleville Midget Nationals on Aug. 6, ran the Indianapolis 500 this year with DCR in the same Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality/Cancer Treatment Centers of America green, white and dark gray livery that Daly has carried throughout the season.
Now, Daly will replicate the number Clauson carried in the Indy 500 as he makes his first Pocono start.
“It means a lot to our whole team to be driving the No. 88 BC Forever entry this weekend,” Daly said. “I think everyone enjoyed working with Bryan throughout the month of May. Jonathan and David Byrd have sort of accepted us into their family. They already had a big racing program with Bryan and then they added me and Dale Coyne Racing to that as well. It’s going to be a great way to pay tribute and obviously a little extra motivation to ‘Park it’ in Victory Lane for Bryan.”
“I’m excited for the Pocono event because it’s a 500-mile race and another big chance to get a lot of experience on another oval. … We’ve had strong cars at all the superspeedway ovals, so we’re hoping to continue that same trend. We’re going there with a lot of unknowns, but I look forward to learning about the place and getting up to speed.”
In addition, Pippa Mann will return to the veteran Verizon IndyCar Series team to pilot the No. 19 entry in the second 500-mile race of the season. Mann was another of Clauson’s teammates on the team in May, and will also wear a special commemorative decal on her helmet throughout the weekend.
Mann has three prior Pocono starts, including her career-best finish of 13th with DCR last August.
“The past week has been incredibly tough for everyone in the racing family, and I’m among those who have been feeling the loss of a friend, as well as a teammate,” Mann said. “When I heard from Dale (Coyne) last week that he had decided that I would drive the No. 19 car this weekend, it meant so much to me because it gives me the opportunity to be one of the drivers helping Bryan reach his 200 starts this year.”
“I’m also adding an edited version of the BC ‘Still Chasing 200’ logo to my helmet for this weekend so I can carry him with me for the race. He told me this May he always wanted to run this race, so I hope between Conor and I, he sees this as us making those starts for him.”
