1. Karam rides confidence into Iowa race 

2. Andretti aims to retake point lead

3. GoWichita to be featured on Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car

 4. Sunoco to serve as sponsor of Pocono race

5. Of note

1. Karam rides confidence into Iowa race: Sage Karam drew on his wrestling background during the early stages of the Milwaukee 100, which ultimately resulted in his maiden Firestone Indy Lights victory.

 The 18-year-old high school senior-to-be from Bushkill Township, Pa., competed in the 138-pound class for Nazareth Area High School this past winter. Seeded second in the district tournament, he lost a decision in the first round but came through the consolations to place third and qualify for the regional event.

 "When I won in Milwaukee, I gave credit to wrestling because how it has made me mentally strong and mentally tough," said Karam, who started on the pole in the No. 8 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car.

Front-row starter Zach Veach led first 56 laps before Karam made his move. He led the final 44 laps, winning by 1.0808 seconds.

 "Some drivers when they get passed on the opening lap they'll start to unravel. Wrestling taught me to stay mentally tough," Karam said. "You go through some crazy stuff in wrestling, the sacrifices you make to make weight. The team relies on you. I stayed composed and let the race come to me."

 Such determination has marked Karam's racing career, which has advanced steadily through the Mazda Road to Indy.

 "There was one time when I couldn't break the top 10 in karting," said Karam, who enjoyed success in the World Karting Association and IRL Stars of Karting before reaching his teens. "I think I was about 8 years old. My parents aren't the wealthiest parents, so I didn't have a lot of money to be doing the whole racing deal.  It almost was like, 'This isn't the right thing for me. I don't think I'm going to be a race car driver. It's pretty much going to be over unless something dramatic changes.'

 "My dad said, 'We're going to give it one more try.' At North Carolina, he said, 'If you don't win, we're done racing.' Kind of a lot of pressure. I went into the race and I won Saturday and I won Sunday. It was huge. It was in the Stars of Karting event.

 "At that moment I realized, 'Hey, there's a reason that I won out of nowhere.' From there on, it's almost like going back to that confidence deal. I knew I could win. That's when we started winning championships and knew that this is what I could do."

 A few years later, Karam was the youngest driver to win the Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout. In 2010, he earned the USF2000 National Championship and its Rookie of the Year award. Karam, who finished third (10 podiums) in the Star Mazda Championship in 2012, was the series' Rookie of the Year in 2011 (two victories) in placing fifth.

 With the Milwaukee win, he vaulted to second in the Firestone Indy Lights championship - 18 points behind Carlos Munoz of Andretti Autosport - heading to Iowa Speedway for the Sukup 100 on June 22.

 Confidence will play a role on the .875-mile, variably-banked oval, where he's won the past three seasons. "It's always tough going up to the next level, being a rookie in the series, going against good guys," Karam said. "The first win is always the toughest. To get the first one, it's 1,000 pounds off my shoulders and it should give us good momentum going into Iowa with the win and two poles in a run.

 "The big thing is you have to have confidence. You can't be down in any sport you do. Confidence is huge. Right now, we're seeing that with my season. I finally got that first pole at Indianapolis, and things have been rolling since Indianapolis.  Hopefully we can just carry that momentum and that confidence. You got to have confidence in your team. Your team has to see that you have confidence in them and yourself. Your team is not going to work for somebody that doesn't have confidence and doesn't believe they can win. "It's good to have a good mood and good confidence going within the team, just give your best, and the team is going to give it back. That's really been part of our success, is that even when times got rough I've always tried to have fun with racing, always stay confident and believe that good things were going to happen. So far, things have been going pretty well."

 2. Andretti aims to reclaim point lead: Marco Andretti slipped to third in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship because of a 20th place in the Milwaukee IndyFest on June 15. Place the blame on an alternator drive, which led to Andretti's No. 25 RC Cola car being temporarily stranded on the backstretch.

 The Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB is an opportunity to reclaim points and standing. Bonus points are available to the top 12 through qualifying heat races, which will determine the Verizon P1 Award and set the grid for the 250-lap race on the .875-mile oval June 23.

 Andretti has won and finished second the past two years.

"Both on the No. 25 side and as a team we've traditionally been strong in Iowa, and we need to continue that this year," he said. "Milwaukee didn't go as planned for the RC (Cola) Chevy so we really need to make up some points and get the lead back. This as good of place as any to do that.

 "We're coming for a win but definitely would like to at least keep the consistency going. With the heat races paying extra points ... well ... we're aiming for total domination and maximum points."

 3. GoWichita to be featured on Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing car:  Wink Hartman will be promoting his hometown of Wichita, Kan., on the No. 67 entry during the IZOD IndyCar Series event in Newton, Iowa.

 The co-owner of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing donated the space on the sidepods of the car driven by Josef Newgarden for the June 23 Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB to GoWichita, the city's convention and visitors bureau.

 Other spots on the car are being sold to local companies and institutions, including Wichita State University.

 "All of them wanted to support Wichita and get national exposure for our city," Hartman said. "You never know when it might jog somebody's memory to make it a positive. Somebody might just Google Wichita. If we can get one person to move 25 jobs to Wichita, we've won."

 4. Sunoco to serve as sponsor of Pocono race: Pocono Raceway announced that the IZOD IndyCar Series race July 7 will be called the Pocono INDYCAR 400 Fueled by Sunoco.

The 400-mile event, the second leg of the Fuzzy's Triple Crown, will be the first Indy car race at the 2.5-mile track since 1989.

 "Sunoco has been a great partner of the Raceway for many years," Pocono Raceway president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky said. "We are thrilled they came on board as the presenting sponsor for such a historic race as this one."

 Sunoco, the Official Fuel Retailer and Convenience Store of INDYCAR, also will sponsor the No. 11 Sunoco "Turbo" car driven by Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan.

 5. Of note: Takuma Sato and A.J. Foyt Racing team director Larry Foyt will attend the ABC Supply Founders Celebration Picnic at the company's headquarters in Beloit, Wis., June 20 on the way to Iowa Speedway. A.J. Foyt will miss his fifth race of the season because of health issues.

 ***

 The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB on June 23 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be televised live at 2:30 p.m. (ET) ABC and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211, www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 13 App for most smartphones and tablets. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Sukup 100 at 7:45 p.m. (ET) on June 22 at Iowa Speedway. The race will be televised by NBC Sports Network at 11 p.m. (ET) on June 28.