JR posts Salesforce Chevy at 219.727, Sage at 219.396 in WIX Filters Chevy

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SPEEDWAY, Ind. (August 21, 2020) – Needless to say, Friday’s annual “Carb Day” action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was unusual with no race fans on hand.

Minus the popular Pit Stop Challenge and the Rock concert in the IMS infield, the two-hour “Carb Day” practice session was action-packed for all 33 drivers and teams under bright blue skies as preparations continued for the 104^th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in the strange August 23 race date.

For Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s J.R. Hildebrand and Sage Karam, the two racers looked to improve on their race settings from last Sunday’s practice runs when they showed solid performances with the No. 67 DRR Salesforce Chevrolet and No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet respectively. 

Back at the famed 2.5-mile oval Friday, Hildebrand, the 32-year-old driver from Boulder, Colo., continued to improve his car’s setup with a best speed of 219.727 miles per hour in a 44-lap session in the No. 67 Salesforce machine. Meanwhile, Karam, the 25-year-old racer from Nazareth, Pa., and his WIX Filters crew got aggressive on settings early in the two-hour practice.

Chief engineer Jeff Britton, crew chief Pat Nelson and the No. 24 crew took the race car back to the DRR garages in “Gasoline Alley” to make the proper adjustments and return to last Sunday’s race settings.

With 45 minutes remaining, Karam returned to the track and look much more comfortable at the controls of his WIX Filters car with a top speed of 219.396 m.p.h. with a total 38 laps.

Later in “Carb Day” runs, both DRR squads worked on their “in and out” pit laps and pit stops to conclude Friday activities. 

Sunday’s 104^th Indy 500 is set to begin this Sunday, August 23, at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised live on NBC-TV.

JR HILDEBRAND, #67 DRR SALESFORCE CHEVROLET

“We worked hard today on in and out laps and pit stops, as those will help us gain spots in the race. We are getting closer to what will work best on the car on race day. We would like to have a car that is in our window to make adjustments throughout the race. Today were great track conditions. I’m not sure that Sunday will be this cool. We have run in track temps over 120 and 125 degrees. So, we know what our cars can do in that heat. If Sunday is hotter, it doesn’t concern me since we ran well in the hotter condition. I hope some guys are overly confident with their cars today because a hotter track could affect them more than us. Overall, we learned more again today with our race car.”

SAGE KARAM, #24 DRR WIXFILTERS CHEVROLET

We rolled out with a bit more understeer than we had on Sunday. We just overshot our setups this morning. We went back to the garage then and put on last Sunday’s setup and felt a lot better at the end of the practice. I was able to run up on people and stay with them. Towards the end, I got in the gray and skimmed the wall in Turn Four. It didn’t do much to the car. We ran through some fuel settings and different mixtures to prepare for Sunday. We practiced in and out laps and had some excellent pit stops from the WIX Filters crew. As usual, they will help me pick up spots in the pits. They are always able to gain two or three positions on pit stops. I felt comfortable getting into the pit box and the crew is fast and consistent. I’m sure that will be the case Sunday too.”