Firestone Racing Sonoma race report

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK RACE REPORT
IZOD IndyCar Series - Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
Infineon Raceway - Sonoma, Calif.
Sunday, August 28 - Round 13 of 17

Firestone tire

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Top-5 Finishers: 1. Will Power; 2. Helio Castroneves; 3. Ryan Briscoe; 4. Dario Franchitti; 5. Scott Dixon.

Race Temperatures: Track ranged from 118° - 120° F (48° - 49° C) and ambient from 74° - 81° F (23° - 27°C).

Firestone Tire Performance Recap: Firestone Racing engineers brought an all-new alternate tire specification to Sonoma, paired with the same primary that was used previously this year at Edmonton. As expected, the primary tires were considerably more durable, while the alternate tires were substantially faster, particularly at the beginning of a stint. (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 best weekend we could ever have as a team. It was a perfect race, and Verizon is back on top again. I was happy for the last caution, because I was dealing with several lapped cars. On the restart, I knew we were guaranteed a win if we got through the first corner cleanly. The alternate Firestone tires were great today, and the primary tires were very durable. Firestone is always so good."

From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "Congratulations to Will Power for a dominating performance all weekend, and congratulations to Team Penske for their first 1-2-3 finish since 1994. Our engineers accomplished what Firestone Racing has been asked to do by the IZOD IndyCar Series, which is to create primary and alternate tires that 'drop off' at different rates and have a significant difference in speed. As can be seen on the attached tire usage chart, every single driver in the race set their fastest lap on alternate tires very early in the run. That proves the alternates were both faster and dropped off in performance in the end, which is exactly what the Series has asked us to do. It's not an easy task to get it perfect each and every weekend, but we're continually striving to improve and to give the fans what they want and deserve - exciting on-track action."

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 a dominating performance and perfect last restart; Giorgio Pantano, for moving from 11th place to 6th before the end of the race; and Martin Plowman, for a brave pass on lap 62 for 13th place. Fans can vote this week at www.indycar.com to determine the winner.