HOUSTON -- Sage Karam has recorded podium finishes in three of the four Firestone Indy Lights street course races. The series championship points leader served notice that he'll be strong in the penultimate race of the season.
Karam, driving the No. 8 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car, posted the fastest lap of the lone practice session on the 1.683-mile, 10-turn MD Anderson Cancer Center Speedway at 1 minute, 09.3931 seconds on his last of 29 laps.
Karam enters the 50-lap Grand Prix of Houston with a two-point lead over Carlos Munoz. Gabby Chaves is four points back and Jack Hawksworth is 11 points arrears. All were within a second of Karam's fast lap with a few seconds remaining in the session.
A 45-minute qualifying session at 8:45 a.m. (ET) will be followed three hours later by the 45-lap race. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the race at 4 p.m. (ET) Oct. 6, following the IZOD IndyCar Series race.
Real-time Timing & Scoring augmented by the IMS Radio Network broadcasts for all on-track sessions is available on www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 13 app.
Click it: Grand Prix of Houston Practice 1 results
"This place is so physical. It’s such a challenge," said Karam, who is coming off a runner-up finish on the streets of Baltimore. "It’s like 90 percent driver and 10 percent car set-up. I think that’s where I’m good on tracks like that, just because I think I’m physically in good shape and I think it’s paying dividends.
"I never come out of a car in a first practice session and have blisters. That just shows how physical this place is. Probably the most challenging track I’ve raced on this year."
Hawksworth, who has won three of the street course races in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car, was .1118 of a second off Karam's fast lap.
“The hardest part of today was waiting around, so it was good to finally get out there," Hawksworth said. "This place is interesting. Bumpy and slippery and whatnot. It’s just good to get some laps under my belt. We have some good pace. At least that’s what it looks like now. Hopefully we have enough to get this on the front row.”
Conor Daly, driving the No. 22 TMR-RUS Industrial/ALS Association entry, was third on the time sheet at 1:09.7906. Munoz was fourth (1:09.8451) in the No. 26 Dialy-Ser car for Andretti Autosport, while Chaves was seventh (1:10.1896) in the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car.
The scheduled morning practice was canceled because of a surface issue in Turn 1. A temporary chicane to slow the cars was employed until grinding of the racing surface at Turn 1 could take place overnight. That area of Reliant Park is utilized to store the grass field for Reliant Stadium.
"It was a unique challenge the last 96 hours turning the parking lot into a racetrack starting right after the Texas game," said Martyn Thake, director of operations for the promoter. "There have been so many things moving and interlocking at the same time. A facility like this used as much as it is, it was an area we weren't able to explore too closely until we took over the facility.
"I think the solutions we've come up with will work out fine."