Ganassi to field Sage Karam in 2015 IndyCar opener in St Petersburg

Karam, who won the Indy Lights title in 2013, will pilot the team's #8 entry formerly occupied by Ryan Briscoe.

It will be his second IndyCar start, following on from his participation in last year's Indianapolis 500.

"It's such an honour to get the opportunity to race in the IndyCar Series, especially in a CGRT car," said Karam.

"The 2014 season was a great learning experience with the team as a whole and I feel prepared to get out there and be competitive.

"This is truly one of the biggest days of my life and now I'm just ready for the season to get started."

Team owner Chip Ganassi said that the team is still working on turning Karam's St Pete appearance into a full-time drive.

"If there ever was a kid that deserved an opportunity in this series it is Sage," Ganassi said.

"He has done everything that we have asked him to do and has turned a lot of heads, whether it is driving an IndyCar, a sportscar, or simply making appearances.

"Sage is a class act and we are happy to have him run in St Petersburg as we continue to work on the rest of the season."

Karam was one of the standouts of last year's 500, where he climbed from 31st to ninth in a car prepared by Dreyer & Reinbold.

He has also performed strongly in his United SportsCar outings with Ganassi, including a second-place finish alongside Scott Pruett at the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis.