Karam, Shank flying IMSA flag at Indy

"We're reppin' IMSA," says Sage Karam of himself and Michael Shank Racing and their efforts in the 101st Indianapolis 500.

Karam is a full-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver, sharing the No. 14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3 in the GT Daytona (GTD) class with Scott Pruett, a sports car racing legend and veteran IndyCar and Indy 500 racer. Karam is driving the No. 24 DRR Mecum Auctions Chevrolet IndyCar for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and qualified 21st for his fourth start in the legendary Memorial Day weekend race.

Michael Shank Racing, meanwhile, is making its Indianapolis 500 debut this year with the No. 50 Michael Shank Racing with Andretti Autosport Honda for driver Jack Harvey. Rookie Harvey starts 27th in the 33-car field, exactly two rows behind Karam. Shank's team fields a pair of full-time Acura NSX GT3s in the WeatherTech Championship GTD class, competing head-to-head with Karam's team among many others.

"It's awesome to finally get that opportunity," said team owner Mike Shank of realizing his lifelong dream of competing in the 500. "I came from nothing. To be able to win the Rolex (24 At Daytona), win Petit (Le Mans), do Le Mans (24 Hours) and do the Indy 500, we're showing the world – I hope – that we are capable of anything.

"We are a racing company and we're prepared to race anywhere, although my loyalties and my heart lie in sports car racing, because that's what truly puts us in this position to be considered for all these things. I'll never leave sports car racing. Maybe I'll do the Indy 500 each year, potentially, but who knows about that too? It's just really a thing for me personally, that I wanted to do."

Shank had been close a time or two in the past before the opportunity finally presented itself this year. He credits his partnership with Honda and Acura as the driving force to make it happen in conjunction with Andretti Autosport.

Make no mistake, however, as it's the same team that runs the Nos. 86 and 93 Acuras in IMSA that are carrying the load at Indy. During most of the practice days at Indy, about half of Shank's team was onsite at the Speedway working on the IndyCar, while the other half stayed back in his Ohio shop preparing the Acuras for the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic coming up on June 3 on Detroit's Belle Isle.

"When we need to do pit stops, I bring the whole team in," Shank says. "All my IMSA guys are over the wall. I'll tell you, in IMSA, our pit stops are 25 to 40 seconds long. (Monday), we did a 6.8-second pit stop.

"I was so proud of my guys. We didn't get to practice on a dummy car back at the shop for weeks on end. My guys learned on the pit lane, in front of God and everybody, (last) Wednesday, fumbling around and figuring it out. By the end of that day, I'm like, 'Holy cow, I think we've got something here.'"

Another source of pride for Shank was the fact that his regular crew chief on the No. 86 Acura, Adam Rovazzini, earned the prestigious Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award, named for the legendary IndyCar crew chief.

"The crew chief from the IMSA program won the Clint Brawner Award," Shank said. "Forever and always, his name will be on a plaque at the (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) Museum, and he got a good chunk of cash."

For his part, Karam – who came up through the open-wheel ranks before embarking on his first season of full-time sports car competition this season – credits his experience in IMSA and the No. 14 Lexus for making him a better driver in the IndyCar.

"This is the most comfortable I've ever been in an IndyCar and the best I've been driving," Karam said. "I really do credit that to racing with Lexus. I've learned a lot as far as how to be patient in the IndyCar, just because – in the Lexus in IMSA – it's not only one guy in the car. You've got a teammate you've got to hand the car off to, and you've got endurance races.

"You've got to be patient, you've got to be smart, you can't make mistakes and you never want to give a damaged car to your teammate, so I've learned how to be real mature behind the wheel just from driving sports cars. It's really applying for me in IndyCar."

So, when the green flag flies shortly past noon eastern time this Sunday, IMSA fans will be watching the outside of Rows 7 and 9 and rooting those drivers and teams on.

"If we can pull out a good result, it makes IMSA look that much better," Karam says. "In all honesty, there's so much talent in IMSA."