In the heat of the moment after a physically-taxing 300-lap race on a humid evening at Iowa Speedway, veteran Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ed Carpenter walked with purpose toward Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Sage Karam.

It wasn’t to congratulate the 20-year-old in the black firesuit on his first podium finish, and an NBCSN camera crew knew a pit road confrontation was in motion.

Carpenter took issue with the way Karam was racing him side-by-side for position in the late stages of the Iowa Corn 300 on the tight .894-mile oval. He had gestured once and then again, and exclaimed on his radio the need for an immediate penalty.

“I said that he has no respect for anyone out there,” said Carpenter in a live NBCSN interview post-lecture and before making his way to the INDYCAR competition and operations trailer to voice his concerns. “If it wasn’t for guys with experience driving with their heads on, he would be hurting himself and other people. I think it’s ridiculous.”

Karam will be the guest on the INDYCAR teleconference July 22. A wrap-up, including audio from the teleconference, will be on www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 15 app.

“I’m just mad because I had a car that was good enough for third or fourth,” added Carpenter, who finished a season-high sixth. “I had to do safe driving – slam on the brakes on the straightaway to save Sage’s butt and he gets rewarded with a podium for it. He should have been penalized on the spot.”

Karam, who called it the most physical race of his young career, noted that the bumpiness on the bottom of the .896-mile racetrack made it difficult to hold the line in the No. 8 Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing while battling for position.

“It’s close racing, it’s IndyCar racing. This ain’t go-karts or anything anymore,” said Karam, who won at Iowa Speedway in Indy Lights (2013), Pro Mazda (2012), Star Mazda (2011) and USF2000 (2010).

“When you go to pass people late in the race, they pin you down to the apron, keep you pinned down. You drift up, racing for position. They get mad you came up on them. They pinned you down. They know it’s going to happen. It’s just racing.”

He followed up July 20 with this Instagram post: “I drive to win. This is indycar its hard racing.”

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