Rookie Sage Karam Leads Indy 500 Practice Times
Rookie driver Sage Karam leads Indy 500 practice times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Yesterday was practice one for the big Indianapolis 500 event.
The chase for speed and unlocking the secrets of the new superspeedway aero kits began in earnest durig practice for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Thirty cars logged nearly 1,100 laps on a day abbreviated by an early afternoon shower, with Sage Karam posting the fastest lap (225.802 mph) in the No. 8 Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet.
“It’s only the first day, so it’s not about how fast you are today,” said Karam, who finished an impressive ninth as a 19-year-old rookie in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. “It’s about how fast you are on Sunday in two weeks. It definitely feels good, though. It’s the first time I’ve ever been P1 at the (Indianapolis Motor) Speedway so it’s a good feeling.”
Two of Karam’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, were second (225.293) and third (225.217) on the speed chart, respectively. Marco Andretti led the Honda contingent, fourth overall at 225.184 mph in the No. 27 Snapple Andretti Autosport machine.
Chevrolet and Honda developed the aerodynamic bodywork packages that attach to the Dallara IR-12 chassis in the offseason. The aero kit components for road/street courses and short ovals were used in the first five Verizon IndyCar Series races of the season, with the superspeedway kit components unveiled May 3 at the opening day practice for the May 24 Indianapolis 500.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Karam said. “The car’s not anywhere near where we want it to be for race day or qualifying. I’ve got a great team. They worked really hard. They are making it a lot easier on us drivers by being as prepared as they are. We are picking this new aero kit apart and we’re figuring it out every time we go out.”
Driver Website: SageKaram.com
2015 Indy 500 Practice Times
1. Sage Karam (C) 225.802mph 39.8579s (41 laps)
2. Scott Dixon (C) 225.293mph 39.9480s + 0.0901s (27 laps)
3. Tony Kanaan (C) 225.217mph 39.9615s + 0.1036s (26 laps)
4. Marco Andretti (H) 225.184mph 39.9674s + 0.1095s (63 laps)
5. JR Hildebrand (C) 224.760mph 40.0428s + 0.1849s (61 laps)
6. Ed Carpenter (C) 224.738mph 40.0466s + 0.1887s (79 laps)
7. Carlos Munoz (H) 224.693mph 40.0546s + 0.1967s (36 laps)
8. Justin Wilson (H) 224.242mph 40.1353s + 0.2774s (44 laps)
9. Takuma Sato (H) 224.239mph 40.1357s + 0.2778s (45 laps)
10. Josef Newgarden (C) 224.193mph 40.1440s + 0.2861s (83 laps)
11. James Hinchcliffe (H) 224.174mph 40.1473s + 0.2894s (36 laps)
12. Gabby Chaves (H) 224.173mph 40.1475s + 0.2896s (8 laps)
13. Simona de Silvestro (H) 223.684mph 40.2353s + 0.3774s (42 laps)
14. Townsend Bell (C) 223.637mph 40.2437s + 0.3858s (39 laps)
15. Graham Rahal (H) 223.582mph 40.2536s + 0.3957s (77 laps)
16. James Jakes (H) 223.499mph 40.2686s + 0.4107s (36 laps)
17. Sebastien Bourdais (C) 223.419mph 40.2831s + 0.4252s (34 laps)
18. Oriol Servia (H) 223.301mph 40.3043s + 0.4464s (58 laps)
19. Simon Pagenaud (C) 222.885mph 40.3795s + 0.5216s (31 laps)
20. Charlie Kimball (C) 222.100mph 40.5223s + 0.6644s (19 laps)
21. Ryan Hunter-Reay (H) 222.034mph 40.5343s + 0.6764s (68 laps)
22. Conor Daly (H) 221.742mph 40.5878s + 0.7299s (28 laps)
23. Sebastian Saavedra (C) 220.438mph 40.8278s + 0.9699s (16 laps)
24. Stefano Coletti (C) 219.748mph 40.9560s + 1.0981s (37 laps)
25. Pippa Mann (H) 219.267mph 41.0458s + 1.1879s (6 laps)
26. Bryan Clauson (C) 219.151mph 41.0676s + 1.2097s (31 laps)
27. Carlos Huertas (H) 216.993mph 41.4759s + 1.6180s (18 laps)
28. Juan Pablo Montoya (C) 150.312mph 59.8754s + 20.0175s (3 laps)
29. Helio Castroneves (C) 141.897mph 1:03.4265s + 23.5686s (1 laps)
30. Will Power (C) 137.763mph 1:05.3294s + 25.4715s (1 laps)
