FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Sage Karam won the Indy Lights championship by finishing third at Auto Club Speedway, where Carlos Munoz won the race for the second consecutive year.
Gabby Chaves finished second in Saturday’s race, falling short in his bid to snatch the championship from Sam Schmidt Motorsports teammate Karam.
Karam entered the race with a 16-point lead over Chaves. His championship season was built on three wins, nine podiums, two poles and 163 laps led.
It gave Schmidt his fourth consecutive Indy Lights title and seventh overall. The 18-year-old Karam now has an opportunity to move to IndyCar next season as the reigning champion.
Said Karam: ” I was crying on that last lap, just to know the dream is almost in reach and to be in the IndyCar Series racing with my heroes.”
