2014: Ivy Tech sponsors Sage Karam in its first Indy 500 partnership

From The Archive

As The Greatest Spectacle in Racing approaches, we’re looking back at the first time Ivy Tech Community College sponsored a race team!

Nine years ago in May, Ivy Tech partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing Teams and had their rookie driver Sage Karam’s Chevrolet adorned in Ivy Tech branding. 

In 2014, Karam was a high school senior preparing for his Indianapolis 500 debut. Ahead of the race, then Ivy Tech President, Thomas J. Snyder, was quoted on motorsport.com stating that Karam perfectly represented Indiana’s college.

“Sage is also a high school student, making him the perfect driver to represent Indiana’s top college choice for high school graduates. The Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event, and as the largest college in Indiana, we’re thrilled to be a part of the greatest spectacle in racing,” Snyder said. 

Karam visited the downtown Indianapolis campus of Ivy Tech before race day in May 2014, where he met with students and toured the Automotive Technology Center. 

Ivy Tech sponsored Karam again the following year in the 2015 Indy 500. 

Steve Laulette, the president of Chip Ganassi Racing Teams at the time, said on speedwaymedia.com that the continued partnership between Ivy Tech and Karam was “a great fit.”

“Ivy Tech’s reach and activation with Sage, combined with the team’s focus on millennials, makes for a great program for the No. 8 team during the Month of May,” Lauletta said.