Karam, Ferrucci To Drive in Two-Car DRR Lineup in Indy 500
December 09, 2021 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci will compete for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) in the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Karam will drive his familiar No. 24 car, while Ferrucci will be behind the wheel of the No. 23 car for the Indiana-based team.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has entered and qualified 43 cars in the Indy 500 dating back to 1999, with a best finish of fourth in 2012. The racing legacy of the Dreyer & Reinbold families dates back to 1927 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with legendary car builder Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, who served as a mechanic on the Duesenberg team.
“Our team is eager to get back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” team owner Dennis Reinbold said. “We believe the talent of these drivers will be important in helping the team achieve the ultimate goal of winning ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’ We, at DRR, have been improving our Indy 500 program with the singular goal of winning the race. Sage and Santino have exceptional talent and are key components for us to achieve the goal.”
Karam, 26, from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, has become a regular in the DRR camp and will make his eighth start for the team after recording his best finish of seventh from the 31st starting position in 2021. Karam has driven a variety of cars, winning the USF2000 (2010) and Indy Lights (2013) championships. He also raced in NASCAR in 2021.
“Doing more ovals in NASCAR this year has helped mentally prepare more to stay focused for the longer races,” Karam said. “The potential to improve in that area is there. We just need to nail down a few things. We are coming off of a high from last year, and the goal is to be even better in the 2022 Indy 500.”
Ferrucci, 23, from Woodbury, Connecticut, has made three Indy 500 starts beginning in 2019, when he finished seventh and was named Rookie of the Year. Ferrucci also placed fourth in 2020 and sixth in 2021.
He has raced a variety of series’ overseas, including European Formula 3, GP3 and Formula 2, and he became a test and reserve driver in Formula One. He also raced in the Chili Bowl Midget national races in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I am super thrilled to join DRR,” Ferrucci said. “Nothing is better than being a part of a team that has such a high work ethic. The team’s attention to detail is comparable to top teams in the series.
“In my last two ‘500’ races, we’ve been in the hunt to win, and I think I have grown a lot as a driver to understand that patience is needed to win. DRR has a great car and proved it last year with a seventh-place finish.”
Karam and Ferrucci have been teammates previously, racing karts over a decade ago.
“I’ve known Sage since I was 5 years old,” Ferrucci said. “We had tremendous success in karts and hope to bring that to INDYCAR come May.”