AVONDALE, La. (WGNO) — The Indy Grand Prix made its historic debut in New Orleans this weekend. Story Block Media spearheaded the Grand Prix’s social media campaign, giving fans a unique perspective on the races. For example, fans got to know a little bit of history behind the iconic Firestone brand, that for more than a century, has helped racers, become winners.
The wheels are in motion for the first Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.
‘Firestone is an incredibly iconic brand with a testament to the amount of equity in the states,” says Lisa Boggs, Director of Motorsports at Bridgestone.
The official brand for Indy, Firestone, wheels up every tire on every race on the track.
‘If you look at the cornering speeds, 230 plus miles per hour at the speedway, run courses, street courses, for a brand to be able to perform as we do, it`s a testament to the terrific product we have with technology, innovation, and performance,” says Boggs.
Every team hands over their rims and Firestone leases out their tires for the race. Crews work around the clock, mounting and balancing the tires.
“Each tire on the car is unique. The right front and the left front, even though they look the same has a different construction,” says Dale Harrigle, Chief Engineer at Bridgestone.
Firestone shipped in 1,600 tires. Each team gets 11 sets of dry and 16 sets of wet tires in case it rains. Plus, standard tires aren’t the only option…
“A little bit faster, has a bit more grip but also goes off a lot quicker. So it’s an element of strategy to the race of when the teams use the alternates,” says Harrigle.
When IndyCar is over, ever wonder what happens to the tires when they’re not in the fast lane?
‘Most of the tires get burned for fuel in an energy plant in Indianapolis,” says Harrigle.
But for now, they’re fueling our need for speed in New Orleans.
During an average season, Firestone supplies more than 15,000 race tires to the Verizon IndyCar series. Stacked on top of each other, those tires would stand taller than 10 Empire State buildings.