Karam: The best I have ever felt after Day 1 at Indy

Karam, the 2013 Indy Lights champion, will race for DRR at Indy for the fourth time in his career and today set a best speed of 218.600mph in his 45 laps.

“It was a really good day for me,” said Karam. “This is the most comfortable I have been here at Indy in the very first day of running.

“I haven’t been in an IndyCar since last May here. In fact, I haven’t been in a racecar since last October in sportscars. This is a new car, so it’s a big challenge for myself and the team.

“We had to work out all of the little kinks today in just three hours. So, it is a tall task in the refresher program, [but] we ran a number of laps today and I feel good as we got through so much information.

“Usually, the cars don’t feel the best after a refresher day. But this is the best I have ever felt after Day 1. The car felt good coming through the refresher speeds and even better when we added speed.”

Team owner Dennis Reinbold, who will also run a second car for J.R. Hildebrand, said: “We had a really solid day, we got a lot accomplished. Sage was comfortable in the car right away and that is important on the first day out with the new car, new brakes, new body kit and new electronics.

“We went through all of the refresher phases. We are looking to start the May practice runs ready to go. We have a long list of things we need to sort through that week. We know what to prepare for when we come back here.”