The NTT IndyCar Sequence will give alternate oval tires one other go at its season finale subsequent weekend at Nashville Speedway, after trialing the idea in 2023 at World Broad Expertise Raceway.
“Used along with Firestone Firehawk major compounds, the softer alternate red-sidewall tires will present one other set of choices, methods and selections for drivers and groups as IndyCar continues to reinforce wheel-to-wheel racing motion and turbocharge the championship weekend,” the sequence stated in a press release saying the transfer. “As well as, guidelines to be used of the weekend’s tire allotment even have been up to date. Every NTT IndyCar Sequence entry will obtain:
• Six units of primary-compound tires
• 4 units of alternate-compound tires – NTT IndyCar Sequence groups might use their weekend allotment unrestricted in follow and NTT P1 Award qualifying
• Within the Large Machine Music Metropolis Grand Prix race, groups should use, in any order:
- One set of primary-compound tires
- Two units of alternate-compound tires As on street and road circuits, automobiles should full two laps on every set of required tires. Failure to adjust to this rule will end in a minimal one-lap penalty. Additionally new to the occasion, there aren’t any necessities whether or not the tires used within the race should be “new” or “used.”
• Moreover, there aren’t any restrictions governing using new or used major or alternate tires in NTT P1 Award qualifying.
“Along with the mixed 10 units of major and alternate tires, every entry will obtain a 3rd and totally different set solely for use within the high-line group follow aimed toward including further grip to a second racing groove – a session that has produced favorable leads to 2023 and ’24.
Firestone’s director of race tire engineering and manufacturing and chief engineer Cara Krstolic expressed delight in regards to the work her crew has put forth within the initiative.
“The time between the announcement of a brand new Nashville venue and the race itself was simply seven months,” stated Krstolic. “Our Firestone crew rose to the problem of an especially brief design cycle and its shortest-ever manufacturing timeframe to provide tires for a now heavier hybrid-powered automobile on a monitor the NTT IndyCar Sequence hasn’t competed on since 2008.
“Following two checks on the Nashville oval, we labored with IndyCar to create differentiation in tires that would supply followers and rivals with an thrilling race. To realize that aim, Firestone is offering an alternate tire for the Music Metropolis Grand Prix. Classes realized from introducing alternates on an oval final season at St. Louis additionally contributed to our preparation. “The aim for the alternate tire is to have important put on and degradation to the purpose that crew pit cease methods might change as tires might put on earlier than the tip of a gas stint. They’re additionally designed for the totally different grip ranges of the 2 kinds of tires to assist in creating extra passing alternatives.”
