“SK$” set for Indy 500 run with Comfort Revolution, Big Machine, Brantley Gilbert

By May 5, 2014, 12:13 PM EDT
0 Comments

Sage Karam has an emerging nickname – “SK$” – and now has his partners set for his Indianapolis 500 debut with Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom Racing, in partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Longtime backer Comfort Revolution (Michael Fux) and Big Machine Records (Scott Borchetta), which have paired up with Karam and CGR at the first two TUDOR United SportsCar Championship races in Daytona and Sebring, will serve as co-primary sponsors of Karam’s No. 22 Chevrolet.

Additionally, Big Machine Label Group artist Brantley Gilbert will serve as a sponsor as well, to promote his new album, “Just As I Am,” that is released May 19. Gilbert, like Kurt Busch, was announced to do the Indianapolis-Charlotte double on Memorial Day Sunday, May 25. Gilbert will be with Karam at Indy, then will make a quick trip to Charlotte for the Coke 600 where he will perform the pre-race concert at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Gilbert is the 2013 Academy of Country Music (ACM) New Male Artist.

Gilbert will also be featured in some fashion across the stable of the remaining four Verizon IndyCar Series CGR entries and the No. 42 Eneos Chevrolet SS in the History 300 Nationwide race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Fux, CEO of Comfort Revolution, “I’m very excited to see Sage drive in the Indianapolis 500. Sage is an excellent driver, totally fearless and has great natural ability. With the Indianapolis 500 being his first race in an Indy car, nobody will expect him to do well……but I think he is going to surprise everybody. I’ve been watching him since he was 13 years old and have always been very impressed with his skill set. Seeing him reach this step on the INDYCAR ladder is very exciting. I can’t wait to watch him.”

Karam, who completed Phase 1 of his Rookie Orientation Program this morning, offered a mature beyond his years quote to describe the feeling of turning his first laps at the Speedway in an IndyCar.

“Crossing the bricks… is like an exclamation point of how you got there,” he said. “I came here with my dad when I was 9 or 10. Seeing the Pagoda and everything, I wanted to win this race so bad. Now that this is a reality, to have the opportunity to qualify is an extremely satisfying experience.”

See two pictures of Karam’s car below, via The Set-Up Sheet founder Steve Wittich (top) and Indianapolis Star entertainment writer Dave Lindquist.

Texas starting lineup: Felix Rosenqvist back on pole; Scott Dixon qualifies second

By Apr 1, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
0 Comments

FORT WORTH, Texas — For the second consecutive year, Felix Rosenqvist will lead the NTT IndyCar Series starting lineup to the green flag at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Arrow McLaren driver is hoping the third time will be the charm at the 1.5-mile oval, where he has run extremely well but has only a career-best 12th in five starts.

“We’ve always been good here, but this is a whole different confidence level compared to last year,” Rosenqvist told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “Let’s try to wrap it up (Sunday).”

In 2020, Rosenqvist was competing for a podium when he crashed with 10 laps remaining at Texas.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for speeds from Saturday’s time trials

INDYCAR AT TEXAS: Schedule, start times, how to watch on NBC, Peacock

Last year, he started first on an oval for the first time in his career but finished 21st because of a broken halfshaft.

“It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks, and naturally, I’ve always been OK here,” Rosenqvist said. “It was the first oval that made sense to me. Every year I’m building on that. But looking at the results, they don’t represent the speed I normally have.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but I hope tomorrow is going to go a bit better and some luck our way would be nice. It’s been feeling super good. Arrow McLaren has been mega every session, so just keep it rolling.”

Arrow McLaren qualified all three of its Chevrolets in the top five, building on a second for Pato O’Ward and fourth for Alexander Rossi in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The March 5 season opener was a disappointing start for Rosenqvist who was squeezed into the wall by Scott Dixon on the first lap.

Dixon, a five-time winner at Texas, will start second Sunday, followed by Rossi and Josef Newgarden. O’Ward will start fifth alongside Takuma Sato, who will start on the outside of the third row in his Chip Ganassi Racing debut.

During nearly four hours of practice and qualifying (including a special high-line session), Saturday’s lone incident involved Conor Daly.

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver spun three times but stayed off the wall and in the frontstretch grass. Aside from a front wing change and new tires, there was no damage to his No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet during the incident midway through the 30-minute session in which drivers were limited to the high line.

“I hadn’t really had a moment before, but it snapped really aggressively,” Daly told NBC Sports after final practice. “Not ideal, but I do know my way around correcting a spin it seems like. I drove NASCAR last weekend and that seemed to help a little bit. I drove in the dirt a lot in USAC Midgets and seemed to be able to save something but not ideal or what we wanted to have happen.”

Daly will start 25th of 28 cars alongside teammate Rinus VeeKay in Row 13. Carpenter qualified 18th.

“Our three of our cars were clearly looking for something. Mechanical grip is for sure what we need. Qualifying we actually expected to be a lot better, but we found an issue there. We’ll see what happens. This race can change a lot. I’m confident in the team to hopefully figure some things out for tomorrow.”

Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine and speed):

ROW 1

1. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Chevy, 220.264 mph
2. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 219.972

ROW 2

3. (7) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Chevy, 219.960
4. (2) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevy, 219.801

ROW 3

5. (5) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevy, 219.619
6. (11) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 219.508

ROW 4

7. (10) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 219.480
8. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 219.355

ROW 5

9. (18) David Malukas, Dallara-Honda, 219.256
10. (26) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 219.184

ROW 6

11. (28) Romain Grosjean, Dallara-Honda, 219.165
12. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Dallara-Honda, 219.146

ROW 7 

13. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Dallara-Chevy, 219.100
14. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Dallara-Chevy, 218.892

ROW 8

15. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara-Chevy, 218.765
16. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda, 218.698

ROW 9

17. (77) Callum Ilott, Dallara-Chevy, 218.427
18. (33) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 218.375

ROW 10

19. (78) Agustin Canapino, Dallara-Chevy, 218.367
20. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Dallara-Honda, 218.227

ROW 11

21. (06) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 218.196
22. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 218.103

ROW 12

23. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Dallara-Honda, 217.676
24. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 217.611

ROW 13

25. (20) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevy, 217.457
26. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Dallara-Chevy, 216.880

ROW 14

27. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Dallara-Honda, 216.210
28. (30) Jack Harvey, Dallara-Honda, 216.103