This MNR Review is presented by Monday Night Racing.
On Monday, Dec. 12, the Interstate Batteries Monday Night Racing Pro Series ran the Tufco Flooring 1:20:00, the sixth race of season six, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the NASCAR Next Gen Cup Cars.
Sage Karam, former NTT IndyCar Series and current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver, took the checkered flag in his MNR debut, leading the entire first half of the race and taking the lead for good after a late mistake by Adam Cabot. Cabot held on for second, while Will Rodgers placed third, Alex Labbe fourth and Joey Padgett rounded out the top five.
Check out the race recap from Frontstretch’s Joy Tomlinson here. Also, you can view the full race broadcast, along with the Frontstretch post-race show featuring Brandon Hauff and Michael Massie, on the Frontstretch YouTube Channel. A lot happened in this race, but here are the five points that stand out:
DEBUT WINNER🔥@SageKaram pulls away and WINS at @CTMPOfficial in his MNR debut. @interstatebatts | @nextlvlracing | @tufcoflooring pic.twitter.com/VoRzuj1icn
— Monday Night Racing (@MonNightRacing) December 13, 2022
1) The Sage Karam Show
Karam was quick to make a name for himself on the MNR circuit. Making his series debut, the 27-year-old from Nazareth, Pa., used his extensive road course experience in open wheels and stock cars to his advantage, running fast in practice and qualifying in the third position.
When the green flag flew, Karam wasted no time finding his way past polesitter Labbe and into the race lead. While many others in the field struggled to keep their cars on course, Karam made it look easy. He navigated his No. 43 machine around the road course without any major mistakes and cruised to a comfortable lead as the planned mid-race caution came out.
That is not to say Karam’s night was completely free of adversity. On the ensuing restart, Karam had a slip-up that allowed Cabot to become only the second leader of the race. Karam only fell as far back as third and began to gradually make his back to Cabot’s back bumper. The two leaders pitted with a little over 20 minutes to go and came out right on top of each other.
It was shaping to be a duel for the race win between Karam and Cabot. However, only a couple of minutes after the pit stops, Cabot ran off course at turn 5, allowing Karam to pass him for the runner-up spot on track. Preston Pardus was the new leader, as he had stayed out longer. But Pardus drove off…
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