Pre-Race Notes: XPEL Grand Prix at Road America
The NTT INDYCAR® SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone head to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, to compete on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn (six left and eight right) natural terrain permanent road course at Road America. Historically the fastest road race on the schedule, the track features a long front stretch where speeds approach 200 mph and several elevation changes that total 150 feet.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Firestone is providing more than 1,600 alternate and primary race tires for practice, qualifying (including the Firestone Fast Six), and Sunday’s 55-lap (220.77 miles) race.
The Firestone Firehawk race tires have been designed and produced with specifications tailored for the high speeds and loads that are unique to Road America. Specifically, the primary and alternate compounds are more durable, while both the primary and alternate front tires have a reduced tread gauge construction as compared to specifications for other road courses.
Each NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry will receive the following allocation:
Primary (black): 6 sets per entry (Rookies receive an extra set for Practice 1)
Alternate (red sidewall): 5 sets per entry
Rain (gray sidewall): 5 sets per entry
Firestone Racing provides a real-time tire tracker at Livetiming.net/firestone for media and fans to follow tire strategies during qualifying and the race. As per INDYCAR rules, each entry must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
Additional notes from Cory Williams, Principal Program Engineer:
This weekend’s primary and alternate tires have the same construction as those supplied for the 2024 race.
The primary tire compound is new for this year’s event. The new compound is designed to be more durable to provide an increased performance gap between the primary and alternate tires. It is expected to exhibit a slight decrease in grip and reduced wear as compared to last year’s primary tire. It is the same compound that we used for primary tires at Thermal Club earlier this season.
The alternate tire compound is the same as what we had on the red sidewall tires for the 2024 Road America and 2025 Thermal Club races.
INDY NXT by Firestone
Firestone will supply nearly 500 race tires to INDY NXT by Firestone teams and drivers for practice, qualifying, and the 20-lap (80.28 miles or 55 minutes) race.
Each INDY NXT by Firestone entry will receive the following tire allocation:
Primary: 4 sets per entry
Rain: 2 sets per entry
Additional notes from Cory Williams, Principal Program Engineer, on INDY NXT by Firestone tires:
Firestone produces an INDY NXT race tire specifically for Road America’s high-speed natural terrain road course. This tire has a lighter gauge and a more durable compound than what is typically provided for all other road and street course race tires in the series.
All Firestone Firehawk race tires are manufactured at the Advanced Tire Production Center (ATPC) in Akron, Ohio, which opened in 2022 and is certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for its transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials throughout the supply chain.*
*The recycled material is allocated using the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) mass balance approach. Find out more about ISCC PLUS certification at: www.iscc-system.org