DREYER - Post-Qualifying Practice Notes

COOLER CONDITIONS HIT IMS MONDAY WITH INDY 500 PRACTICE

AS HILDEBRAND, KARAM PREPARED 103RD INDY CAR

JR completes 59 Laps in traffic, Sage runs 53 circuits

 

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May 20, 2019) – After the drama-filled qualifying weekend, the Monday practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team seemed like a calm and cool exercise with two well-balanced machines for J.R. Hildebrand and Sage Karam.

Hildebrand, the Boulder, Colo., racer in the No. 48 DRR Salesforce Chevrolet, and Karam, the Nazareth, Pa., youngster in the No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet, made consistent full-tank laps, long tire stints and numerous pit stop practices in preparation for Sunday’s 103rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

In the two-hour practice session, Hildebrand, who’ll start 21st on Sunday, recorded 59 laps with a best speed of 225.571 miles per hour, while Karam, the 31st starter in the 200-lap Classic, made 53 circuits Monday of the top speed of 224.499 m.p.h.

“At the end of the day, the Salesforce boys have done an awesome job with the No. 48 car,” said Hildebrand. “Realistically, the conditions are so much different now. It is hard to base too much on today’s runs because it is much cooler than what we will have on race day. But we can work with what we had last week with the car in race trim. And we can anticipate what we can work on for Friday (Carb Day) and Sunday. So, we got some of the information out of the way today and we can tidy some things up too. We have all of the race pieces on the car now after qualifying trim. We know we can find a little bit more too for the race day setup. Man, it feels slow out there today after being in qualifying mode for a couple of days. We have been concentrated on our race car for most of month now. That is the main focus right now. I really like the qualifying mode personally, but we also understand that the race is why we are here. It is what is critical to me and the team.  The more we can rub on those fine little details is a key for us now. That is what’s going to matter on Sunday.”

“We got our first taste of race trim running today,” said Karam. “And I have been in qualifying mode with no cars around me. I kinda forgot the race conditions with cars all around. Today, the No. 24 WIX Filters Chevrolet went out and we made some initial runs to make sure the car was balanced. The car felt really good today.  We made some small adjustments that helped too. That is one thing about the DRR crew. They know their race settings. I think we have proven that in the last few 500s when we have come from the back to the front of the field. So, I feel very confident about my race car heading into Carb Day and the Race on Sunday.  Obviously, the conditions are cooler today. But we can adjust for the warmer weather too now. So, I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited now.”

Hildebrand will be headed to Louisville on Tuesday for Indy 500 Media Day with Karam going to Ft. Wayne on Tuesday.

#   #   #

CONTACT:        Tom Blattler,Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 317.525.5692

Karam May 20 practice.jpg   JR in practice at Indy.jpg  

Tom Beeler

Tom has been a contributor to RIS since 1992, and has covered IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, Grand-Am, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to his RIS work, Tom has been a contributor for General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and the ACO.

Read More on Indy Car press releases
Volume 2019, Issue 5, Posted 12:25 PM, 05.24.2019