Karam Leads “Last Chance” Qualifying Again Sunday, Will Start 31st

Sage Makes His 8th Indy 500 in DRR AES Indiana/500 Festival Chevy

INDIANAPOLIS (May 23, 2021) – Sage Karam will start from a familiar spot in the 105th Indianapolis 500 next Sunday, May 30, as the Nazareth, PA, driver of the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing AES Indiana/500 Festival Chevrolet qualified 31st starting position Sunday for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” This year’s race will be the eighth 500 start for the 26-year-old veteran.

Forced to compete in Sunday’s “Last Chance” qualifying round, Karam showed the pace with his DRR team’s solid machine for the battle in the “Last Row” spots, as five drivers vied for three starting positions. Sage clocked four laps of 230.032, 229.423, 228.871 and 228.305 miles per hour for a four-lap average of 229.156 m.p.h. Ironically, Karam’s four-lap average on Saturday was nearly identical at 229.158.

In fact, Karam’s Sunday overall time was two minutes, 37.0982 seconds, compared to Saturday’s 2:37.0967, just an 0.0015 difference.

For the third consecutive year, Karam will start in the 31st position, the first driver to do it at the Brickyard. He also started 31st in his rookie year of 2014 when he finished ninth and won the “Hard Charger Award.” Karam is one of four drivers to start on the ‘Last Row” on four occasions (George Snider, Tom Bigelow and Buddy Lazier).

Sage will start next to Will Power (228.876) and Simona de Silvestro (228.353) on Row 11 in the 33-driver field for next Sunday’s 200-lap classic. Scott Dixon won the pole at 231.685.

“It wasn’t easy running in Sunday’s Last Chance qualifying, as it was warmer than Saturday’s qualifying,” said Karam. “But the team did a great job preparing the car for the four-lap stint. Glad we were fastest in that little round as we were two years ago. Ironically, I’ll start 31st for the third straight Indy 500. I’m really proud of the DRR Team Chevy and AES Indiana crew the way they kept working so hard to get me in the show here at Indy. As one-car, Indy-only team, DRR had to go up against two cars basically Penske-prepared for Will and Simona. And we beat them today. I think that is very cool. Now we are ready to prepare for next Sunday’s race.”

“Carb Day” practice next Friday is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the 105th Indianapolis 500 set to begin with the drop of the green flag next Sunday, May 30, at 12:45 p.m.

About Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was founded in 1999 by Indianapolis car dealer Dennis Reinbold. The legacy of the Dreyer and Reinbold family dates back to the 1920s with Reinbold’s grandfather, the legendary Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, a former factory motorcycle racer. Dreyer served as a crewman and mechanic on the famed Duesenberg driven by Benny Shoaff and Babe Stapp in the 1927 Indy 500. Dreyer went on to build Indy 500 cars in the 1930s which many started on the front row. In addition, Dreyer constructed championship-winning sprint cars and midgets as well as quarter midgets called Dreyerettes. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing captured its first win in 2000 with driver Robbie Buhl at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, Fla., and has fielded a variety of drivers including Buhl, Buddy Lazier, Sarah Fisher, Buddy Rice, Al Unser Jr., Sage Karam and J.R. Hildebrand. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has successfully qualified all 42 drivers for the Indy 500 in its history. DRR, who competed in the Rallycross for the first time in 2015, captured the 2016 Lites rallycross championship.