Pre-Race Notes: Sonsio Indy Grand Prix
Indianapolis, Indiana | May 8-9, 2026
The Month of May opens at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the 13th edition of the Sonsio Grand Prix on the facility’s 2.439-mile road course. The two-day event features on-track action from the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES, complemented by an INDY NXT by Firestone doubleheader.
Featuring 14 turns (five left, nine right), the permanent road course runs clockwise and uses a portion of the superspeedway oval, including a 2,869-foot front straight before transitioning into the infield.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES NOTES:
- Firestone is supplying approximately 1400 race tires to NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams for practices and qualifying, including the Firestone Fast Six, and Saturday’s 85-lap (207.32-mile) race.
- Firestone Racing provides a real-time tire tracker at Livetiming.net/firestone for media and fans to follow track tire strategies in qualifying and the race.
- As per INDYCAR Rule 15.3.3.2.1. for road course events, each entry must use one (1) set of primary tires and one (1) set of new (sticker) alternate tires. Each set must complete at least two laps in the race.
- 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 materials1.
Each NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry will receive the following allocation of Firestone Firehawk race tires:
- Primary (black sidewall): 5 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
Notes from Cory Williams, Principal Program Engineer:
“The Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate race tires for the IMS road course feature the same construction used over the past three years. The primary tire utilizes the tread compound introduced last season, which delivered durable, consistent performance, and we expect similar results this weekend. The red-sidewall alternate tire also carries over last year’s tread compound, designed to produce comparable performance characteristics and degradation. As a result, we anticipate the performance gap between the two compounds to remain in line with what we observed last year.”
INDY NXT BY FIRESTONE NOTES:
- Firehawk race tires provided for this weekend’s INDY NXT by Firestone doubleheader integrate Bridgestone global ENLITEN™ Technology.2 Components include the following materials3:
- Renewable soybean oil: Replaces petroleum-based oils traditionally used in tire compounds
- Recycled carbon black: Reinforcement material recovered from end-of-life tires
- More than 550 Firehawk race tires will be supplied for practice, qualifying and the two INDY NXT by Firestone races taking place Friday and Saturday on the road course at IMS:
- Race 1 (Friday): 35 laps / 85.37 miles or 55 minutes
- Race 2 (Saturday): 30 laps / 73.17 miles or 50 minutes
Each INDY NXT by Firestone entry will be provided with the following allocation of Firestone Firehawk race tires:
- Primary: 3 sets per entry (plus two carryover sets from Barber Motorsports Park)
- Rain: 2 sets per entry
As per INDY NXT by Firestone Rules:
- Two carryover sets from the Barber Motorsports Park event may be used during pre-qualifying practice.
- One new set must be used for qualifying
- One new set must be used during one of the two races
- Qualifying tires must be used during one of the two races
Learn more about Firestone at www.firestonetire.com/firestone-racing.
Instagram/Facebook: @FirestoneRacing, @FirestoneTires
TikTok: @Firestone, @FirestoneFirehawk
