CARMEL, Ind. – Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci will compete for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 29, at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Karam is scheduled to pilot his familiar No. 24 car while Ferrucci will drive 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 great racing legacy of the Dreyer & Reinbold families dates back to 1927 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with legendary car builder Floyd Dreyer, who served as a mechanic on the Duesenberg team.
“Our team is eager to get back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said team owner Dennis Reinbold. “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, the 26-year-old racer from Nazareth, Pa., 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. Last year he also competed for DRR in Nitro Rallycross, winning five races.
Karam has driven a variety of cars, winning the USF2000 (2010) and Indy Lights (2013) championships. In 2021, Karam also drove in NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series with a best finish of 16th at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
“Doing more ovals in NASCAR this year has helped mentally prepare more to stay focused for the longer races,” said Karam. “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, the 23-year-old from Connecticut, has made three Indy 500 starts beginning in 2019 when he finished seventh and was named Rookie of the Year. Santino also placed fourth (2020) and sixth (’21) in his other Indianapolis 500 starts.
He has raced a variety of series’ overseas including European Formula 3, GP3, Formula 2, and became a test and reserve driver in Formula One. He also raced in the Chili Bowl Midget national races in Oklahoma.
“I am super thrilled to join DRR,” said Ferrucci. “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,” Ferrucci added. “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,” said Ferrucci. “We had tremendous success in karts and hope to bring that to IndyCar come May.”
Indianapolis 500 practice rounds are set to begin Tuesday, May 18, with qualifications scheduled for Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22. The 106th edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will start at 12:45 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 29.