Firestone Racing Pre-Race Notes: Indy Toronto
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is in Canada this weekend for the 37th edition of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. Firestone is supplying more than 1,500 primary and alternate race tires as drivers take to the challenging and narrow 1.786-mile 11-turn (four left-hand and seven right-hand turns) street circuit with scenic views of downtown Toronto for practice, qualifying (including the Firestone Fast Six), and Sunday’s 90-lap (160.74 miles) race.
Both the Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate race tires are the same that were provided for this year’s St. Petersburg, Long Beach, and Detroit street courses. For a third year on the streets of Toronto, the Firestone Firehawk alternate tire sidewall construction features natural rubber sourced from sustainable guayule shrubs grown at the Bridgestone research facility in Arizona. These alternate tires are easily identified by the green sidewall stripe.
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.*
Each NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry will receive the following allocation:
- Primary (black): 5 sets per entry (*Rookies receive an extra set for practice)
- Alternate (guayule green sidewall): 5 sets per entry
- Rain (gray): 5 sets per entry
Firestone Racing provides a real-time tire tracker at Livetiming.net/firestone for media and fans to follow tire strategies in qualifying and the race. As per INDYCAR rules (15.3.3.2-2.7), each entry must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps after the green flag is given to start the race.
Notes from Cara Krstolic, Director Race Tire Engineering and Manufacturing, Chief Engineer Motorsports:
The primary tire construction and compound for this year’s race on the streets of Toronto are the same as we had here last year. While the alternate tire construction is the same as it was in 2024, the alternate compound has been updated and is expected to exhibit increased wear and grip as compared to last year’s race.
*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.
