Sage Karam couldn’t be more happy that the beginning of his ninth Indianapolis 500 attempt has started off on the right foot.
In the first practice session Tuesday morning, Karam logged the third fastest lap of the day, and his Dreyer and Reinbold team-mate Santino Ferrucci was sixth fastest.
Starting off with a setup that is good from the outset means that the team doesn’t have to gamble with big changes, and can begin dialing in the configuration that was run in April testing.
“To be able to come here in May flat out of the pits and be on it is a breath of fresh air,” Karam said, speaking to Motorsport Week. “We didn’t have to worry.
“I was able to run here in April, and usually don’t get that luxury. To be able to have a day and a half, I knew the package we had and was able to come here and feel comfortable right away.
“When you don’t have those days in April, you come here and your first session is working out all those kinks. You start out real conservative. But we already did that in April.
“You’ve already gone through the checklists of making sure everything is alright. That makes the start of the month a lot smoother. Definitely comfortable.”
Karam credited his Dreyer and Reinbold team, which once again is only running the Indy 500 this year, as a big reason for the early pace.
The ability for the team members to put all their focus on this one event means that there are no distractions to pull them away from making sure every last detail is correct.
“If you look up and down the grid, and you look at the Dreyer and Reinbold racecars, they’re some of the nicest put together cars on the grid. That’s a lot of hard work from everybody at the shop putting a lot of love into those cars all year long.
“A lot of drivers will say that we have the nicest looking cars out there. Body fits and stuff like that. These guys go the extra mile for sure.
“What’s hard [about the team only running one race] is you don’t get the data before and after Indy every year. But what you get in preparation is what some other guys don’t get.
“That’s what I’ve always loved about Dreyer and Reinbold. I know I’m going to be getting in a car that is properly ready to roll for the Month of May. There’s not anything wrong with it. The best parts they have are on that car. They go the extra mile.”
