Firestone Racing Mid-Ohio Race Report

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK RACE REPORT
IZOD IndyCar Series - Honda Indy 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - Lexington, Ohio
Sunday, August 7, 2011 - Round 11 of 17

Top-5 Finishers: 1. Scott Dixon; 2. Dario Franchitti; 3. Ryan Hunter-Reay; 4. Takuma Sato; 5. Tony Kanaan.

Race Temperatures: Track ranged from 122°-127° F (50°-53° C) and ambient from 85°-87°F (29°-31° C).

Firestone Tire Performance Recap: Firestone Racing brought new compounds for both the primary and alternate tire specifications to Mid-Ohio, paired with the body construction used here in 2010. The red-sidewall alternates featured an even softer tread compound on the right-side tires compared to the lefts, and the Firestone alternates appeared to be the tire of choice today. Race winner Scott Dixon logged the final 30 laps on a used set of Firehawk alternates that had been run eight all-out laps in qualifying the previous day (38 total laps, 85.8 miles on the set) and said he could've gone even faster at the end if needed. (A chart detailing all drivers' tire use in the race is attached.)

Firestone Firehawk

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

From race winner Scott Dixon, #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The Firestones were great. I was definitely a little loose on the blacks (primaries), and it woke me up in that middle stint. As far as consistency and wear, even the reds (alternates) were phenomenal. I think I could've locked up the quickest lap of the race right on the last lap. They held up superbly."

From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "Congratulations to Scott Dixon and Target Chip Ganassi Racing for a dominant weekend and race win. We brought new tire compounds here this weekend and different drivers had somewhat different experiences with the new Firehawks. But as Scott Dixon told us, there were setups available that made the tires work very well. One of the reasons we're in racing is to continuously learn and develop new tires, so we will take all the information gathered here today, analyze it and decide on specific tires that we'll bring back to Mid-Ohio next year. It was a picture-perfect day and there were plenty of fans on hand to enjoy the race, so we're pleased with that as well."

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: Scott Dixon, for his brilliant pass on the lap-61 restart that gave him the lead for keeps; James Hinchcliffe, for his crew's call to pit early that allowed him to lead 26 laps; and Charlie Kimball, who capitalized on his best qualifying effort to date to run up front all day and finish 11th. Fans can vote this week at www.indycar.com to determine the winner.