Why IndyCar needs Sage Karam in the series full-time

By Asher Fair | Jan 13, 2018

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 05: Sage Karam, driver of the #8 Lexar Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 5, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /

5 of 7

FORT WORTH, TX – JUNE 06: Sage Karam, driver of the #8 Lexar Chevrolet (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /

2015 season (continued)

The next race was at Pocono, which is Karam’s home race, as it is only a few miles from his hometown of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. While he qualified in 20th place, he found himself in the lead with 21 laps to go.

It seemed as though whenever Karam was near the front of the field throughout the race, NBC Sports Network race announcers Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy would always refer to Karam as the “future face of the IndyCar Series”.

But exiting turn 1 in a rather odd spot with under 21 laps remaining in the 200-lap, 500-mile race, Karam spun out and crashed nose-first into the wall, ending what could have been a great race for him.

Even worse was what happened to Justin Wilson as a result of Karam’s crash. The nose cone of Karam’s car bounced around the track in the moments after the wreck, and as Wilson drove by, the nose cone hit his helmet, instantly knocking him out. His car would hit the inside retaining wall before he was removed from the car and airlifted to the Lehigh Valley Hospital.

The following day, Monday, August 24th, 2015, Wilson succumbed to his injuries at the age of 37.