IndyCar rookie Sage Karam defends aggressive racing at Iowa

INDYCAR SERIES rookie Sage Karam finished a career-high third in Saturday night's race at Iowa Speedway, then received a lecture from racing rival Ed Carpenter.

"He was a little angry with my driving," Karam, 20, said yesterday on a conference call. "He said I needed to show more respect and grow up."

Karam, from Nazareth, Pa., home of the racing Andrettis, said he just listened to Carpenter because he was tired.

"If I go back at him, it could've escalated to another level," Karam said.

Carpenter was upset with what he considered Karam's overly aggressive driving late in the race. Karam said they spoke briefly on the plane leaving Iowa.

"He said he was still mad at me," Karam recalled. "There was an open seat next to me. I said we could talk about it. He said, 'No, I have three kids to take care of in the back: I don't need a fourth.' "

Good for Karam to poke fun at himself . . .

Karam's aggressiveness depends on your point of view. Neither Karam nor Dario Franchitti, the four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner, thought he was wrong. Franchitti is an adviser with Ganassi Racing, owner of Karam's car.

"[Franchitti's] a guy who would tell me if I did something wrong," Karam said. "In my mind, I wouldn't change a thing. I just raced [Carpenter] hard, I gave him room. There were 20 laps to go. If I did in the first 20 laps [of the 300-lap race], I can see he'd be mad."

Karam, who wrestled for Nazareth High, isn't concerned that he's sliding into a villain's role in IndyCar.

"I don't think I'm a villain," he said. "I drive hard; I drive like a rookie, I guess. I take risks. Every risk is calculated. The greats back in the day didn't have a lot of friends. They've always been the ones taking the most risks. That's what I'm going to continue to do."

Karam is scheduled to drive for Ganassi in two of IndyCar's remaining three races, at Mid-Ohio Aug. 2 and Pocono Aug. 23. Sebastian Saavedra will be in the Chevrolet-powered car for the season finale Aug. 30 at Sonoma, Calif.

Karam was joined on the podium at Iowa with winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and runner-up Josef Newgarden. Combined with fourth-place finisher Graham Rahal, it marked the first time four Americans finished 1-4 since 2001, when Jacques Lazier, Sam Hornish Jr., Eddie Cheever and Jeff Ward led the way at Chicagoland Speedway.

Each summer when NASCAR returns to Indianapolis, people are reminded what a special place the speedway is. Open-wheel cars have raced there for 99 years.

Sprint Cup races aren't always the most exciting, with the relatively flat track. But it's still Indy.

Looking ahead to Sunday's Cup race, Kurt Busch said: "It is the coolest racetrack that we get to race on, other than Daytona. The history, the prestige, the value of Indianapolis - it is defined by the number of decades they have produced races there and the atmosphere. It's very electric at Indianapolis. Those Indiana natives love their track. What makes Indy special is the people."

Last year, Busch did double duty, finishing sixth in his Indy 500 debut and 40th in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte that night, leaving the latter early with engine trouble.

"To run 'The Double' was a dream come true," said the driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet. "To try to compete for 1,100 miles in two of the toughest races in the same day, personally, it was a long journey. I really enjoyed it and brought away a great finish from Indianapolis but didn't quite close out the deal in Charlotte with the engine failure.

"It gives me that taste and desire and that energy, still, to try to do it again. I don't know if I will be able to do it again. It's on the back burner, so to speak.

"To see how Indy cars have evolved and now they are running 230 mph, that track is designed for open-wheel cars. It's amazing how something built in the early 1900s to challenge and test an automobile's endurance and speed and its capabilities is still a perfect testing, proving ground today."

NASCAR is trying a new aero package for Indy that is designed to create more passing opportunities.

The Aug. 2 Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway will be called the Windows 10 400. According to a news release from Pocono, branding the race coincides with next week's launch of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who swept last year's Pocono races, will drive the No. 88 Microsoft Chevrolet in the race.

With all those zeros, it's almost a sure bet that in some newspapers (not this one, of course), the race will be called the Windows 10 4000, or the Windows 100 400.

Crown Royal Presents  the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: NBC Sports Network/WNPV (1440-AM)

Course: 2.5-mile oval

Distance: 160 laps/400 miles

Forecast: scattered thunderstorms, upper 80s

Last year's winner: Jeff Gordon

Last year's pole: Kevin Harvick, 188.47 mph (track qualifying record)

Track facts: Jeff Gordon won his fifth race at Indy last year by leading 40 laps, including the last 17. Kyle Busch was second, Denny Hamlin was third. Kasey Kahne led the most laps and finished sixth. Harvick paced 12 laps before finishing eighth ... Kyle Busch will try Sunday to be the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win three consecutive races. Busch has three top-five finishes (no wins) and eight top 10s in 10 Indy starts ... Johnson is a four-time winner at Indy ... Chevrolet drivers have won 12 consecutive Brickyard races. Ford's last victory at the track was by Dale Jarrett in 1999 ... The Jeff Kyle in the race title is an ex-Marine and brother of the late Chris Kyle, portrayed by Bradley Cooper in "American Sniper." Jeff Kyle's name was chosen to be honored in a Crown Royal contest for his war service and work with veterans.

Wins: Jimmie Johnson, 4; Kyle Busch, 3, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2 each; Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., 1 each.

STANDINGS

1. Kevin Harvick ... 734

2. Joey Logano ... 665

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... 655

4. Jimmie Johnson ... 646

5. Martin Truex Jr. ... 628

6. Brad Keselowski ... 603

7. Matt Kenseth ... 578

8. Kurt Busch ... 576

9. Jamie McMurray ... 574

10. Jeff Gordon ... 573

11. Denny Hamlin ... 552

12. Kasey Kahne ... 538

13. Ryan Newman ... 530

14. Paul Menard ... 528

15. Aric Almirola ... 502

16. Clint Bowyer ... 500

17. Carl Edwards ... 487

18. Greg Biffle ... 437

19. Austin Dillon ... 434

20. Casey Mears ... 427

Up next: Windows 10 400, Aug. 2, Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa., 1:30 p.m.; TV: NBCSN; last year's winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.