Photo Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar
It’s no secret around the Verizon IndyCar Series paddock that the series’ newest full-time team, Harding Racing, is going to great lengths to improve.
They’ve taken their full-time driver Gabby Chaves out of the car in favour of auditioning other drivers to find a suitable teammate to race alongside Chaves in a second full-time car next season.
This week, it’s veteran Conor Daly in the car.
Going forward, though? Well, that’s to be determined at a later date, but Harding Racing president Brian Barnhart told OnPitRoad.com on Saturday at the Honda Indy of Toronto that they have a few drivers they’re looking at, including veteran driver Sage Karam.
“You’re looking at guys like Sage Karam. We have a couple of ovals coming up with St. Louis and Pocono. Sage is from Nazareth, so there’s a good tie there,” Barnhart said Saturday. “Sage has a pretty good track record on the ovals as well. We may look at doing something with him.”
Barnhart also mentioned 26-year-old Indy Lights driver Aaron Telitz.
After finishing third in Sunday’s Indy Lights race as the precursor to the IndyCar race, Telitz confirmed he has been in contact with Harding Racing about a potential drive.
“I just reached out to them because I saw they were trying out other drivers. It’s nothing super serious yet,” he told OnPitRoad.com after the race. We haven’t had any big talks about anything of that nature. I’ve only driven an Indy car one other time at Indianapolis with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.”
“They’re openly doing different drivers, so I want my [hat to be in that ring],” Telitz continued. “Harding, being their first year, they’re learning. They’re doing a pretty good job here this weekend, specifically with Conor being in the car.”
Telitz, a two-time Indy Lights race winner in 2017, has had a rough go at it in the series this year. A mix of bad luck and the occasional mistake has taken him out of the championship hunt. He currently finds himself sixth in points, 109 points out of the lead, but he said that has nothing to do with his urgency of wanting to get behind the seat of an Indy car.
“I think I’d be asking to drive that car if I were leading the championship by 100 points. I just want to be driving an Indy car.”
