Final practice, air demonstrations and music acts round out schedule Friday, May 24 at IMS. Read More>
Two departure times provide more flexibility for fans who want to commute to the track on their bike on Race Day. Read More>
This partnership represents the first time a major athlete's sponsorship has been decided by a vote using blockchain technology. Read More>
View images from the shortened first day of the Indianapolis 500 Open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
View images from the once-in-a-lifetime Total Solar Eclipse event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. View Photos>
Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway prides itself on its fire rescue and medical response teams that arrive to the scene of an accident within seconds. But how do they get that good? On Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles takes you through the annual Motorsports Safety Training at IMS, which features specific training scenarios for INDYCAR, NASCAR, IMSA and more to make sure every driver at IMS is safe. Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson sits down with Doug Boles to talk about the pain of coming so close to scoring back-to-back wins, how he wanted to compete on ovals after his Formula 1 career and the transition to Andretti Global. Watch Video>
Why does Scott McLaughlin move his hands around so much in the car? What "button" is he pushing? What's the pressure of the iconic Yellow Submarine like? We cover that and so much more with Scott McLaughlin on the latest Doug and Drivers. Watch Video>
May 23, 2013 | By Dave Lewandowski
Competitors are quick to let Sage Karam know that over 40 laps on a 2.5-mile oval it's not so much where you qualify as where you're set up for the final sprint. Still Karam was pleased to earn the Sunoco Pole Award for the Firestone Freedom 100 in his maiden Firestone Indy Lights oval race. The 18-year-old from Nazareth, Pa., posted a two-lap average speed of 189.243 mph (1 minute, 35.1160 seconds cumulative time). The race will be broadcast live at noon (ET) on NBC Sports Network and on the IMS Radio Network on www.indycar.com. Karam, driving the No. 8 Comfort Revolutions car for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian, is in his first season in the series after placing third in the Pro Mazda Championship in 2012. He has a pair of podium finishes in the three races on road/street circuits. "It’s definitely a big confidence-booster," said Karam, who was quickest in the truncated morning practice session. "The fact that we really didn’t even work on qualifying setup, it was a big surprise. We were really just working on race setup the whole month. The rain really threw us a curveball and the crew responded really well." It's the fifth earned pole and sixth pole start for Sam Schmidt Motorsports in the Firestone Freedom 100. Qualifications were delayed three hours because of a persistent light rain that cut short the morning session. The 11 drivers will face a green track when they line up. "It’s going to be a lot of strategy," Karam continued. "I know this race comes down to the last 10 laps, there’s a lot of draft here. Getting the pole is awesome but it’s really not as important as other tracks. Definitely it’s going to be strategy, it’s going to be a big mental thing, and like I said, I know we have a good race car so I’m really stoked about it." Series championship points leader Carlos Munoz, who recorded a two-lap average of 189.276 mph, will start second in the No. 26 Dialy-Ser Andretti Autosport car. He was .0703 of a second off Karam's cumulative time over the five miles. Munoz also will start second in his maiden Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 26. "It was totally different as I was used to the IndyCar (and) to go back to Indy Lights," said Munoz, who's won two of the three races this season. "They have a great car, and we will focus on the race. Here in Indy Lights, the qualifying is not as important as the tow in the race. Here (at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) the race is really amusing. We had so much fun last year in that race because we were overtaking all the time. But I am going one by one. I am focusing first with Indy Lights – then I will focus on the Indy 500.” Peter Dempsey (189.359) and Gabby Chaves (187.770) will share Row 2. St. Petersburg race winner Jack Hawksworth (187.410) and Kyle O'Gara (187.393), making his Firestone Indy Lights debut, will be on Row 3. "We had a good run, qualified fifth, the car was pretty decent and we're pretty happy with it," Hawksworth said. "The qualifying round doesn't mean too much so we can't read too much into it. It's going to be about what happens (in the race). I was very happy with the race care the last time we ran it so I think we're in for a good race."