ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Sage Karam finished fourth at Road America, a career-best finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The 28-year-old former NTT IndyCar Series driver from Nazareth, Pa., showed speed all weekend, qualifying sixth and maintaining position inside the top 10 for the entire race Saturday (July 29) afternoon in Wisconsin.
Karam briefly had the lead on the penultimate lap after Justin Allgaier slipped on the exit of turn 5. Going into the carousel, Karam moved to the lead, but Sam Mayer came from the outside and put the pair three-wide. Karam held the lead, but then overshot a corner under heavy breaking and slipped from first to fourth.
“Somehow we came out of [the turn] with the lead and you know, it was all good,” Karam said. “Then I was the first one through the speedy dry, was the guinea pig and just had no grip.”
A victory was just out of hand, but Karam was delighted with the result.
“Absolute pleasure of a weekend,” Karam said. “… These guys are some of the best in the business, and to be out there and being able to fight for a win was something really cool and something I’ll never forget.”
The Sam Hunt Racing duo of Karam and Kaz Grala both showed speed all race, with Grala finishing seventh in a double top 10 for SHR. Karam was full of praise for the team’s performance after the race.
“When you got a fast car like that, it makes the driver’s life easy.”
Karam began a transition from IndyCar to the Xfinity Series in 2021, and he reiterated that is where he wants to be.
“I want to be full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and you know, it’s a great experience for me to be able to run up front with those guys.
“I just hope this weekend showed that you know, we can run up front with the big dogs and be a contender.”
About the author
Steve Leffew joined Frontstretch in 2023 and covers the Xfinity Series. He has served honorably in the United States Air Force and and lives in Wisconsin.
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
Really nice to see both of Sam’s cars running well.
Sam Hunt has a great program in the works