Firestone Racing Baltimore race report

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK RACE REPORT
IZOD IndyCar Series - Grand Prix of Baltimore
Streets of Baltimore, Maryland
Sunday, September 4 - Round 14 of 17

Podium: race winner Will Power, Team Penske, second place Oriol Servia, Newman/Haas Racing, third place Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology-Lotus

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Top-5 Finishers: 1. Will Power; 2. Oriol Servia; 3. Tony Kanaan; 4. Dario Franchitti; 5. Scott Dixon.

Race Temperatures: Track ranged from 103° - 110° F (39° - 44° C) and ambient from 86° - 87° F (30° - 31°C).

Firestone Tire Performance Recap: Firestone Racing engineers brought an all-new alternate tire specification to Baltimore, paired with the same primary that was used previously this year at Toronto. Both specifications performed very well this weekend on an untested track. (A chart of drivers' tire use in the race is attached.)

From race winner Will Power, #12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "This is the toughest race I've driven all year. I've never driven so hard in my entire life. I gave it absolutely everything I had out there today. The Firestone tires were great, they were there when I needed them today. The alternate tires felt a lot faster than the primaries, but I was on primary tires when I was able to pull that gap (on Oriol Servia). The car was great - perfect setup, perfect everything."

From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "Congratulations to Will Power for another dominating performance all weekend. And congratulations to the IZOD IndyCar Series and Baltimore Grand Prix promoters for an outstanding inaugural event. This weekend has truly been an incredible experience. While this was the first IZOD IndyCar Series event for Baltimore, it marked Firestone Racing's 200th IndyCar win since re-entering the sport in 1996. We've got a picture-perfect championship contest heating up, and the Firestone Firehawk tires will be there for the drivers along the way. We had no tire issues whatsoever this weekend, which allows the drivers to focus on the task at hand - learning a new track and putting on a great show for the fans. We're looking forward to our first run on the Motegi road course, and then rounding out the season with two 1.5-mile ovals. It's going to be a great battle!"

Firestone "Tire-ific" Move of the Race: This $10,000 prize is awarded after each IndyCar Series race to the driver best utilizing his or her Firestone tires to make a bold, dramatic move during the event. Nominees from today's race are: Will Power, for putting a large enough gap between himself and Servia to pit under green and maintain his lead; Oriol Servia, for running 32 laps on a single set of used alternate tires to finish second; and Tony Kanaan, for gaining 11 of the 24 total positions he progressed on the lap 38 crash and coming from 27th to finish third. Vote this week at www.indycar.com.