Iowa Speedway tire specs issued by Firestone

FIRESTONE FIREHAWK FAST FACTS
IZOD IndyCar Series – Iowa Corn Indy 250
Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa
June 22-23, 2012 – Round 9 of 16

Race Distance: 223.5 miles/359.75 kilometers (250 laps on the 0.894-mile/1.439-kilometer short oval).
Firestone Firehawk Race Tires Supplied:
– Each entry receives nine sets (36 total tires) for practice, the qualifying heats and the race. A total of 1,128 tires are available. This is a new Firehawk tire specification that pairs the right-side tire spec used two weeks ago at Texas with the left-side compounds used last month at Indianapolis, along with the larger tire stagger typically seen on short ovals.

– Tire stagger: A single stagger of approximately 0.45 of an inch is available for all teams. Stagger, created by molding the right rear tire with a larger diameter than the left rear, helps racecars turn more naturally and smoothly on oval tracks.

From Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "Iowa Speedway seems a fitting place to cap this stretch of five consecutive race weekends since it is really an amalgam of several of the other tracks where we have raced recently. Iowa is short in length like Milwaukee, but its racing tendencies lean more toward superspeedways like Indianapolis and Texas. Which is precisely why Firestone Racing is again supplying a tire specification that's a hybrid of our superspeedway specs. The right-side specs are identical to those used a couple weeks ago at Texas. The left-side tires come from the Indy 500 spec run last month. Both of those superspeedway events turned out to be great, exciting races and we're optimistic that this new hybrid Firehawk tire spec will help produce another tremendous race at Iowa. Much attention has been paid to tire performance in recent weeks and rightfully so. The changes to limit aerodynamic downforce on ovals have placed greater demands on the tires and a higher premium on tire management throughout a full fuel stint. Those drivers able to keep their tires under them throughout the run are the ones moving to the front at the end. We've always felt that the tires played a key role in IndyCar racing and we are seeing clear evidence of that now."

Firestone Racing History of Note: One driver has finished on the podium three times in the Iowa race's five-year history – Marco Andretti (second in 2008, third in 2009 and first in 2011) … A couple of Firestone racing greats were past race winners on June 23, the date of this year's Iowa race. Jimmy Bryan won on the dirt oval at Detroit on June 23, 1957, on his way to a second straight national championship. On June 23, 1996, Alex Zanardi collected his first victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing on the road course at Portland, Ore. Zanardi would go on to win 15 races and two CART championships, all with Firestone.