Ganassi Racing opens doors to new, young fans

By Dave Lewandowski | Published: Oct 2, 2015

Ganassi Sound Garage

It wasn’t until the inaugural Ganassi Sound Garage in September 2014 that Sage Karam unveiled talents such as walking on his hands and line dancing.

And the Verizon IndyCar Series driver let everybody in attendance know he drives considerably faster on the racetrack than his stock car teammates.

More, undoubtedly, will be learned about the 20-year-old native of Nazareth, Pa., during the second Ganassi Sound Garage featuring Big Machine Label Group’s recording artist A Thousand Horses in concert Oct. 5 at the team’s Concord, N.C., facility.

Watch it live at 8 p.m. ET on www.IndyCar.com and www.GanassiSoundGarage.com.

The program is intended to introduce the team’s millennial drivers – Karam, Sebastian Saavedra (Verizon IndyCar Series), Dylan Kwasniewski (NASCAR Xfinity Series), Kyle Larson (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and Brennan Poole (NASCAR Xfinity Series) -- to young social media influencers with the goal of creating race fans.

“When the two worlds of racing and music come together it’s awesome,” said Karam. “A lot of people our age come out and get involved and they see racing. It’s attention for both worlds.”

Last year, 200 individuals who live within 100 miles of the team’s race shop, were invited to the event to encourage user-generated content. A “reverse red carpet,” on which attendees passed by Big Machine Label Group’s recording artist Cassadee Pope and the drivers for photos and introductions, and a Q&A with the drivers were included in the event. Pope also performed in concert.

This year, more than 600 millennials are expected. Each of the drivers’ race cars will be on display, along with displays of team sponsors and Chevrolet.

“The return of Ganassi Sound Garage has been met with tremendous support and I’m happy to say this year’s edition will be bigger and better than its debut," said Steve Lauletta, president of Chip Ganassi Racing. "With A Thousand Horses headlining, we plan to deliver another unique social media experience focused on attracting millennials and exposing them to our sport, drivers and team.”