Sunday

Firestone Racing Indy Racing League Iowa Speedway Post Race Notes & Quotes

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK RACE REPORT

Sunday, June 21, 2009 – Round 7 of 17

Top-5 Finishers: 1. Dario Franchitti; 2. Ryan Briscoe; 3. Hideki Mutoh; 4. Dan Wheldon; 5. Scott Dixon.

Race Temperatures: Track ranged from 99°-114° F (37°-46° C) and ambient from 84°-90° F (29°-32°C).

Firestone Tire Performance Recap: Firestone brought a proven tire specification (the same spec ran at Iowa in 2008) and it provided great grip and durability. Dario Franchitti relied on the grip during his key in and out laps surrounding his final pit stop that put him in the lead. Tony Kanaan displayed the Firehawks’ tremendous durability by logging 106 laps (95 miles) on his initial set.

From race winner Dario Franchitti, #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “The Firestone tires are always great, and we keep throwing challenges at them. This track is one of the biggest challenges, I think, with the massive loadings that go through it and the fact we’re trying to use a superspeedway tire on a short oval.

These tires work fantastically well on all types of track, but because of the particular stuff that we put these cars through here, Firestone has to bring a superspeedway tire. That means that on cold tires, it’s pretty interesting. But when they get up to temperature, they’re perfect. As usual, Firestone came up trumps.”

From Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing: “The Iowa Speedway fans really support this event and they deserve a great show, which they saw today. There were lots of lead changes and magnificent racing action, topped off by the sensational last stop for Dario Franchitti that put him out front.

Dario really had to lean on his Firestone tires on the critical in and out laps to get ahead of Ryan Briscoe, but they held up for him just as expected. We’re quite pleased with the Firehawks’ performance this weekend. As Dario mentioned, this short oval acts much more like a superspeedway when it comes to loading on the tires, so our Iowa tire is much more closely related to our superspeedway family of race tires. It’s the second straight year we’ve run this specification at Iowa, and for the second straight year it showed very well.”

Firestone “Tire-ific” Move of the Race: This $10,000 prize is awarded after each IndyCar Series race to the driver who best utilizes his or her Firestone tires to make a bold, dramatic move during the event. Today’s nominees are: Dario Franchitti, whose frenetic in and out laps, coupled with quick pit work, put him in the lead on lap 197;

Tony Kanaan, who opted for fuel only on an early stop and confidently put 106 laps on his first set of Firehawks; and Tomas Scheckter, who boldly passed six cars on the outside on the first lap, on his way to a sixth-place finish.

Fans can vote through Wednesday at www.indycar.com to determine the winner, who will be announced in pre-race ceremonies at Iowa on June 21. Prior to today’s race, Danica Patrick received the “Tire-ifc” award for her late pass of Dan Wheldon at Texas on June 6.

- Firestone Racing Press Release