Sage Karam will make his fourth Indianapolis 500 start and third with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the 101st running of the Memorial Day classic. The full-time driver of the No. 14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship has the month of May open thanks to a break in the IMSA schedule, and so can resume his running with the veteran Indianapolis team led by Dennis Reinbold.
Karam blogged for NBC Sports last year during the month of May, and plans to do so again this year.
The release is below:
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Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced today that young driving star Sage Karam will return to the team to pilot its No. 24 machine in the world’s biggest auto race, the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, set for Sunday, May 28, at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Karam, the 21-year-old racer from Nazareth, Pa., will enter his fourth Indy 500 in 2017 and his third entry with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing after two impressive drives in 2014 and 2016. The former Firestone Indy Lights and US Formula 2000 series champion drove from 31st position to ninth in his rookie showing in 2014 for the team. Sage won the “Hard Charger Award” in 2014 at age 19.
In last year’s historic 100th Indy 500, Karam put on a dazzling performance as the former high school wrestling star came from his 23rd starting spot to fourth at lap 92 before he was hit by another car. That contact forced Karam into the turn two wall and out of the race.
“We are very pleased to have Sage back with our Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team for the 2017 Indy 500,” said Dennis Reinbold, owner of the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing organization. “We have had two sensational showings at the 500 with Sage in 2014 and 2016. His impressive runs give the team great confidence in returning to the 500 this year. Sage has worked well with the engineering staff and the crew and his approach to the Speedway setups have been outstanding as his speed has shown.”
The Dreyer and Reinbold family has a long history in the Indy 500 dating back to the 1920s with legendary car builder Floyd “Pop” Dreyer. Reinbold, Dreyer’s grandson, has been a car owner in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” since 2000 and has successfully qualified 35 entries in the race. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, a past winner in the Verizon IndyCar Series, has recorded four top-ten finishes in the Indy 500 including fourth in 2012, seventh in 2010, eighth in 2008 and ninth in 2014.
“I’m really excited to be back with Dennis and the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team for the Indianapolis 500 this May,” said Karam. “Trying to win the 500 as a one-off team is certainly a big challenge, but I’m confident in this team and their ability to field a race car that can win this race. I’ll be working with the same engineers and the same pit crew from the last two races at Indy with DRR and I trust that we can build upon that continuity and ride that momentum to the double checkers and into Victory Lane.”
Following the 101st Indy 500, Karam will return to his full-time job competing with 3GT Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, where Sage competes with co-driver Scott Pruett in a Lexus RCF GT3 GTD sports car.
In addition, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be making upcoming sponsorship announcements for the 101st Indianapolis 500 in the near future.
Karam and the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Special will take their first official 2017 Indy 500 practice laps Monday, May 15, with qualifications scheduled for Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21. The 101st 500-mile classic will start at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 28.