Photo Credit: Kingdom-DRR/IndyCar
Although questions still linger about the majority of what he may do for the remainder of the 2016 auto racing season, Pennsylvania-native Sage Karam will be present in the Verizon IndyCar Series’ premier event at the very least.
On Thursday, Karam along with Davey Hamilton of Kingdom Racing and Dennis Reinbold of Dreyer-Reinbold Racing announced that they have reunited to enter a single car in the 100th running running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Penn-Grade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 29th. Karam made his IndyCar Series debut in 2014 at Indianapolis with Kingdom DRR, qualifying 31st and finishing nith, one of two rookies to place among the top ten in the 98th edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The team’s No. 24 Dallara-Chevrolet will be backed in 2016 by Gas Monkey Garage Energy Drink, a relatively new brand tied to the popular Discovery Channel television show Fast N’ Loud that will return for an eighth season in 2016. The brand is looking to make a major splash in auto racing this year, after sponsoring a Top Fuel dragster and Pro Stock car in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Series in 2015, debuting at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. In addition to Karam’s Indy 500 ride, Gas Monkey Garage will sponsor the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R in the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month as well as once again backing the efforts of NHRA Pro Stock racing prospect Alex Laughlin and sponsoring BJ Johnson’s Monster Jam truck.
Dreyer Reinbold Racing made its debut in the IndyCar Series in the year 2000, winning its first race at Walt Disney World Speedway with Robbie Buhl. After running full time on the circuit through 2012, the team has cut its operations to just the Indianapolis 500 every year, since backing away from full time participation on the circuit following the 2013 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kingdom Racing made its debut with its now owner Davey Hamilton driving, in a co-op entry with Tony George’s Vision Racing in 2008. Since then it has split its focus between both the Indy 500 and the Indy Lights circuit, joining forces with DRR in 2009 and again in 2014. In addition to entering Karam at the 500-mile race in 2014 and this year, the combined operations competed in last year’s event with Townsend Bell handling the driving duties. Bell finished 14th in the 99th edition of the Indy 500.
While Karam’s place in the Indy 500 festivities for 2016 is now set in stone, the question about his participation in any of the remaining 15 races in the Verizon IndyCar Series championship is still unknown. Karam competed in 12 events last year for Chip Ganassi Racing, including last year’s Indy 500 when he finished a disappointing 33rd after making contact with AJ Foyt Racing’s Takuma Sato on the opening lap.
With Sage Karam and Kingdom DRR’s confirmation, the current entry count for this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Penn-Grade Motor Oil currently stands at 27, with further confirmations expected as the of the Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway draws closer.
Stay tuned to OnPitRoad.com for continued coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Road to Indy.
