It may seem like an unusual pairing, but for
Indianapolis-area chiropractor John Wagner,
D.C., Davenport ’76, who practices in Lafayette,
Ind., and his son, Brandon, chiropractic and auto
racing go hand in hand.
For Dr. Wagner and Brandon, the combination
of auto racing and chiropractic makes sense for
several reasons. First it keeps Brandon, who has
been competing in Firestone Indy Lights series
races, in prime form for the physical demands of
his sport. “I want my body to perform at 100 percent
when I’m racing, and with chiropractic care,
I know I am physically prepared,” Brandon says.
He attends Purdue University with plans to enroll
at Palmer’s Davenport Campus within a year.
Secondly, both Dr. Wagner and Brandon want to
increase public awareness of chiropractic by
exposing more people to it through Brandon’s
racing career. This year Brandon is achieving a
long-time racing career goal and will be competing
in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27.
“This will allow me to expose chiropractic to the
largest number of auto racing spectators in the
world—more than 95 million on race day alone,”
Brandon says. He and his team have aligned with
two of the best racing stables in Indy car racing,
Davey Hamilton Racing and Sam Schmidt Racing,
which will assist with marketing efforts to the
Indy car fan base. Brandon’s participation in this
year’s Indy 500 will mark the first chiropracticsponsored
car and driver in this prestigious, popular
auto race. Race viewers will see “chiropractic”
emblazoned on the chiropractic Indy car, along
with supporting organizations’ logos.
Having been born and raised in Indiana, the
children of Dr. Wagner and his wife, Shari, grew
up attending races of all kinds, especially the
Indianapolis 500. “When our boys showed an
interest in racing,” Dr. Wagner says, “they began
at the ground level. GoKarting led to Ford Focus
Midgets, then national midgets, and now the
opportunity to participate in the biggest spectacle
in racing. We have been Brandon’s biggest fans,
promoting him locally through various businesses,
who in time became sponsors. My support for
Brandon’s racing career is easy because I share his
racing passion, but most of all I get to spend
valuable time with him.”
Brandon with some of his family members at
a 2010 race. From left are his mom, Shari,
Brandon, Dr. John Wagner and Brandon’s sister
and current Davenport Campus student, Julia. |
Dr. Wagner founded www.chiroracing.net, a practice
management organization that also raises
sponsorship funds for Brandon’s racing. “I got the
idea from another young racer who is sponsored
by a diabetes drug company. I felt that chiropractic
should be given equal time as a sponsor of a
promising young racer. We are trying to show
chiropractic in a positive way by joining racing
and chiropractic.”
Thanks to the support and positive examples in
his life, Brandon has more than impressive racing
statistics to carry him to the next level. Success is
not optional in the Wagner family, and he is a
firm believer in pursing goals. “Put everything
you have into following your hopes and dreams,”
he says, “and spend time doing something you
truly love.”