Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Why IndyCar needs Sage Karam in the series full-time

By Asher Fair

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)
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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 7
Next
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 29: Oriol Servia, driver of the #77 Schmidt Peterson with Marioti Racing Honda Dallara, drives through a field of debris left by the crash of Sage Karam, driver of the # 24 DRR-Kingdom Racing Chevrolet Dallara (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 29: Oriol Servia, driver of the #77 Schmidt Peterson with Marioti Racing Honda Dallara, drives through a field of debris left by the crash of Sage Karam, driver of the # 24 DRR-Kingdom Racing Chevrolet Dallara (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Moving forward

The death of Justin Wilson was certainly not Sage Karam’s fault. It was a freak accident and nothing more. But inevitable negative thoughts above how things could have been different had he not wrecked flooded Karam’s mind after the crash. He could not fall asleep at night and ended up needing to meet with a psychiatrist for therapy. Sebastian Saavedra would drive in his place at Sonoma, the 2015 season finale.

In his first race after the accident, the 2016 Indianapolis 500, Karam started in 23rd place driving the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet. But by lap 94 of the 200-lap, 500-mile event, Karam had already worked his way into the top 5. It looked like Karam was in for the result of his life and his misfortune was all behind him.

But then he tried to pass Townsend Bell on the outside heading into turn 1 on lap 94, Karam’s day would end in the wall despite the fact that he had a legitimate chance to win the race.

Karam would return to compete in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 in the cockpit of the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet, but he didn’t end up having much speed. He finished the race in 28th place after starting in 21st as a result of a battery failure on lap 126.