Firestone – Syndication Server

Alternate oval tires return for Nashville IndyCar finale

The NTT IndyCar Series will give alternate oval tires another go at its season finale next weekend at Nashville Speedway, after trialing the concept in 2023 at World Wide Technology Raceway. “Used in addition to Firestone Firehawk primary compounds, …

The NTT IndyCar Series will give alternate oval tires another go at its season finale next weekend at Nashville Speedway, after trialing the concept in 2023 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

“Used in addition to Firestone Firehawk primary compounds, the softer alternate red-sidewall tires will provide another set of options, strategies and choices for drivers and teams as IndyCar continues to enhance wheel-to-wheel racing action and turbocharge the championship weekend,” the series said in a statement announcing the move. “In addition, rules for use of the weekend’s tire allotment also have been updated. Each NTT IndyCar Series entry will receive:

• Six sets of primary-compound tires

• Four sets of alternate-compound tires – NTT IndyCar Series teams may use their weekend allotment unrestricted in practice and NTT P1 Award qualifying

• In the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix race, teams must use, in any order:

One set of primary-compound tires
Two sets of alternate-compound tires As on road and street circuits, cars must complete two laps on each set of required tires. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a minimum one-lap penalty. Also new to the event, there are no requirements whether the tires used in the race must be “new” or “used.”

• Additionally, there are no restrictions governing the use of new or used primary or alternate tires in NTT P1 Award qualifying.

“In addition to the combined 10 sets of primary and alternate tires, each entry will receive a third and different set only to be used in the high-line group practice aimed at adding additional grip to a second racing groove – a session that has produced favorable results in 2023 and ’24.

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Firestone’s director of race tire engineering and production and chief engineer Cara Krstolic expressed pride about the work her team has put forth in the initiative.

“The time between the announcement of a new Nashville venue and the race itself was just seven months,” said Krstolic. “Our Firestone team rose to the challenge of an extremely short design cycle and its shortest-ever production timeframe to produce tires for a now heavier hybrid-powered car on a track the NTT IndyCar Series hasn’t competed on since 2008.

“Following two tests on the Nashville oval, we worked with IndyCar to create differentiation in tires that would provide fans and competitors with an exciting race. To achieve that goal, Firestone is providing an alternate tire for the Music City Grand Prix. Lessons learned from introducing alternates on an oval last season at St. Louis also contributed to our preparation. “The goal for the alternate tire is to have significant wear and degradation to the point that team pit stop strategies could change as tires may wear before the end of a fuel stint. They are also designed for the different grip levels of the two types of tires to aid in creating more passing opportunities.”

Lack of tire degradation could make passing hard at Iowa

Team Penske’s Will Power experienced a right-front tire failure at the recent Iowa Speedway test where a buildup of heat in the hard carcass proved to be a problem on the new high-grip track surface. In reaction to the situation, Firestone brought softer right-side tires for this weekend’s race and IndyCar took 450 pounds of downforce off the cars to reduce the load. After 90 minutes of running at Iowa for the Hy-Vee Doubleheader, no issues were reported.

“They’re quite forgiving. They’re nice tires. I like them,” Power told RACER. “I didn’t think there was any blistering. Taking downforce off helps that. I did 60 laps on one set. Bit of vibration, but I was going just as fast with them on the last lap. Zero deg[redation]; zero passing. It’s just going to be a day of pit stop sequences, in and out, and hoping for a lucky yellow situation.”

Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi shared Power’s views on the tires and in his concern for what kind of racing the Firestone rubber might produce. The hope with the revised tire package was for higher degradation to occur, which would present passing opportunities for those on newer rubber. Alas, high durability was the primary attribute on display during Friday’s practice.

“There’s no deg,” Rossi said. “I think that’s what you would expect with a new surface. I don’t know if any tire is gonna deg. I do think the lighter downforce makes it a little bit more challenging on heavy fuel and behind cars, so the car is moving around more than at the test. But as the fuel comes off, any sort of tire wear you have is for the tire’s life.”

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who was fastest on Friday, offered a bit of hope on the degradation topic, but also pointed to the new track surface as the main cause of the situation.

“There’s some tire deg,” he said. “Not as much as we’ve seen in the past. I think that’s more track specific than tires.”

Firestone brings new tire compound to Iowa

NTT IndyCar Series teams have been informed of a change to the right-side Firestone tires they will use for this weekend’s Hy-Vee doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. The move comes in reaction to a heat management issue that arose at the recent test at …

NTT IndyCar Series teams have been informed of a change to the right-side Firestone tires they will use for this weekend’s Hy-Vee doubleheader at Iowa Speedway.

The move comes in reaction to a heat management issue that arose at the recent test at the 0.875-mile oval where extremely high temperatures were recorded in right-side tire carcasses, and in the case of Team Penske’s Will Power, a heat-related failure of the right-front tire occurred on the incredibly fast bullring.

RACER understands the combination of Iowa’s newly-paved, high-grip corners, higher weight — up 105 lbs — with the new energy recovery systems installed, and harder tires created by Firestone to manage the spike in forces created by the grip and weight, led to those right-side tires generating and retaining more heat than was sustainable.

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According to the teams, the updated right-side tires are of a new compound and construction and, crucially, are softer and will wear at a faster rate, which should help the tires to release more heat and run at cooler temperatures. Teams will also receive updated tire pressure and camber recommendations from IndyCar’s official tire partner to use with the new rubber.

With the timing of the change after the test, the 10 IndyCar teams in attendance and their 27 drivers will need to prioritize their Friday practice running to learn about the performance capabilities and durability profile of the revised tire package. IndyCar also removed 10 percent of the maximum downforce achievable for the event, cutting approximately 450 lbs of aero loading off of all cars.

In addition, the series has added a session to the Iowa calendar on Friday afternoon with an open invitation for its teams to help apply rubber to the second lane in Turns 1-2 and 3-4 at slightly reduced speeds.

A new set of tires, using left-side rubber from Indianapolis and right sides from the Iowa test, will be made available for those who participate in the 30-minute session scheduled from 2:45-3:15pm CT prior to the 3:30-5pm official practice window.

Firestone optimistic about tweaked Indy 500 tires

Firestone’s tires for the Indianapolis 500 follow a familiar design approach as the previous races held so far in 2024. With the NTT IndyCar Series having announced its plans in 2023 to contest the entire 2024 season using hybrid engines, Firestone …

Firestone’s tires for the Indianapolis 500 follow a familiar design approach as the previous races held so far in 2024.

With the NTT IndyCar Series having announced its plans in 2023 to contest the entire 2024 season using hybrid engines, Firestone made tires during the offseason that were harder in order to cope with the significant hike in weight and related punishment to the tires that would be introduced with the new energy recovery systems (ERS).

To better manage the 100-plus pounds of ERS heft coming to the field of Dallara DW12s, Firestone produced sturdier tires that would match the heavier cars’ performance attributes at all the tracks on the calendar, including the Indy 500, but with Penske Entertainment’s decision to push hybridization’s debut to July, the harder tires have not worked in a harmonious manner with lighter cars they were never meant to see.

Despite the unintended mismatch caused by the series, Firestone says it has developed a tire for the Indy 500 that should preserve the quality of racing we’ve become accustomed to at the Speedway.

“We did a lot of testing, both with the current car and the new hybrid configuration, and through all of those tests, what we were working to develop was something that would work good on the current car, but also work on their hybrid car,” Cara Krstolic, director of race tire engineering and manufacturing, told RACER.

“Of course, these [hybrid] tests had to happen starting two years ago, and then even last year, and we started production of the tires late last year. That way, we have enough time to do all the measurements of the tires and preparations that we need to do and we take great care and making sure we have good stagger for the race teams, trying to get everybody a consistent left to right side tire difference. That takes some time to get all those measurements and all so we want to pull forward the production as much as we can.

“They are amazing at what they do, and we want to make sure we have a great product release. So early production means that we have to start production before we know whether there’s a hybrid or not, but we have to go into our design with a with something that will work on a hybrid but will also work on the current car. And what we came up with was actually something that would work very well in the current car.”

Krstolic says there are some similarities to last year’s Indy 500 tires along with revisions to compensate for the heavier hybrids.

“It is the same right side compound and then the left side compound is actually a little bit more durable, which would work well if you had a heavier hybrid,” she added. “But it will also work well with our current cars. The one thing that we saw last year was a bit of left side tire wear. Whether it was some cars wearing out the front tire or some cars having issues with wear on the left rear tire.

“So we’ve gone to a more durable left side compound, which have a couple of minor construction changes, and they’re meant to deal with some of the wear some specific teams we’re dealing with. So all in all, the tire is going to be very good for the current car, even though we designed it with the hybrid in mind. What you’ll see there is something that’s still going to be appropriate for the car configuration that we have now.”

When it comes to the quality of competition in the race confidence is high for Krstolic and her Firestone Racing team when it comes to the tires the field of 33 will have to use.

“Yes, absolutely,” she said. “This is not going to be anything drastic from what we normally see at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This race is so important for the racing community and the Firestone brand. It’s something that we take pride in and we’re excited about the tires we’re going to have this year.”

Firestone’s oval alternates making ripples, not waves at WWTR

Firestone’s first-time deployment of alternate tires on an oval was met with similar reactions from a range of NTT IndyCar Series drivers on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway. With drivers required to complete at least two laps on the …

Firestone’s first-time deployment of alternate tires on an oval was met with similar reactions from a range of NTT IndyCar Series drivers on Saturday at World Wide Technology Raceway.

With drivers required to complete at least two laps on the alternates during Sunday’s 260-lap race, the rubber was slightly faster than Firestone’s primary compound, but not enough to create an impression that they’ll deteriorate at an advanced rate.

“They didn’t seem wildly different,” said Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who was fastest in the No. 2 Chevy. “That’s my intuition. Hard to say until we do it for real. We’re all going to find out together in the race. But I think off the limited amount of data we have, I don’t know that there’s going to be a big difference between them. With that, it’s not going to give a lot of preference [towards either tire].”

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Conor Daly was eighth overall and fastest of the RLL trio on his debut for the team. Like Newgarden, he didn’t find the alternates to be radically different from the primaries, but he did end the 60-minute session with a strong opinion on which compound he wants to spend the most time on in the race.

“I would say thankfully it wasn’t too big of a surprise,” Daly said. “For me, I was like, ‘Okay, not terrifying.’ It’s not all of a sudden you went out and had a ton of front grip and the thing was super loose.

“I saw a few other drivers; you might miss an apex here or there to try to figure out the entry security compared to how much grip it’s got at the center. For me, there was definitely a noticeable balance change and a noticeable wear. I guess that’s the goal. I prefer the primary tires, I tell you that. But that’s what’s supposed to make it exciting.”

Sunday’s race starts at 3:30 pm ET on NBC.

Firestone’s Cara Krstolic on rising to the Road America tire challenge

Firestone’s Cara Krstolic tells RACER about the herculean effort by her team to make new tires to match Road America’s fresh track surface in record time. Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube Presented by: RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report at Road …

Firestone’s Cara Krstolic tells RACER about the herculean effort by her team to make new tires to match Road America’s fresh track surface in record time.

Or CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube

Presented by:

RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report at Road America is presented by Skip Barber Racing School.

With multiple locations in the US, Skip Barber Racing School has developed more winning racers than any other school. Their alumni have taken the podium in all facets of motorsports including NASCAR, INDYCAR, SCCA, World Challenge and IMSA. Click to learn more.

Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Ohio

Both the top-rated public and private courses in Ohio have a long history of hosting top-tier competitions.

Both the top-rated public-access and private courses in Ohio enjoy a rich history of top competitions.

Firestone Country Club’s South Course, which tops the list for public-access layouts in the state, has hosted three PGA Championships, several PGA Tour events including the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational for many years, and the Senior Players Championship. In large part a private club, Firestone offers tee times to public golfers who book a stay-and-play package. And the South Course isn’t alone, as Firestone’s two other courses also rank among the best public-access layouts in the state.

On the private side, Muirfield Village hosts the annual Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour. Operated by Jack Nicklaus, the club has also hosted the 1987 Ryder Cup, the 1992 U.S. Amateur, the 1998 Solheim Cup, the 2013 Presidents Cup an the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with that of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Ohio’s prestigious private offerings is likewise included below.

MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort | Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.

* New to or returning to list

Massive course owner and operator ClubCorp announces company rebrand to Invited

“Invited is not just a name. It’s everything we are,” said Invited CEO David Pillsbury.

What’s in a name? ClubCorp thinks plenty.

Officials with the 65-year-old privately held lifestyle and hospitality company Friday announced a rebrand rolling out in the coming months with the name and fundamental belief that everyone is “Invited.”

The Dallas-based company includes a portfolio of 161 owned and operated golf and country clubs featuring 205 golf courses and more than 1,000 tennis and pickleball courts nationwide; 32 city and sports clubs; seven stadium clubs inside prominent college football stadiums; and six Big Shots locations around the country delivering a tech-driven entertainment and culinary experience.

“Invited is not just a name. It’s everything we are,” Invited CEO David Pillsbury said in a press release. “We are Invited because, from the golf courses to the tennis courts, from fine dining to family hang time, we connect and create communities attracting members from diverse backgrounds that share similar passions and pursuits. We create clubs and experiences that combine exceptional amenities and unmatched service with a friendly and welcoming spirit. We want our members, guests and team members to know that Invited is where they belong.”

Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. (Courtesy of ClubCorp)

It’s an interesting move as the name ClubCorp held plenty of brand equity as the largest owner and operator of private golf and country clubs in the country, generically describing the business the company is in but failing to reflect the spirit of who company officials said they are and where they believe can go. The new name and brand speak to creating places where people are warmly welcomed and encouraged to enjoy each other’s company, and fit the modern, inclusive vision on display in the numerous programs that ClubCorp has instituted focused on bringing more women, girls and minorities to their clubs and into the game. These programs reflect this brand shift, the company said.

“Our clubs are the ultimate third place and play an integral role in the lives of our members. We are the place where they play, celebrate and build lifelong friendships,” Pillsbury said. “Invited, as a brand identity, reflects that connection and emotion of who we are, our dedication to our clubs and members and where we are headed as a company. We relearned the value of human connection during the pandemic and this new identity of an open invitation that brings people together and reflects those connections.”

The Dallas Morning News reported that the rebranding comes as the company’s owner, Apollo Global Management, is reportedly eyeing a deal to take the company public again as early as this year. Apollo paid a 31-percent premium (around $1.1 billion for the company) on then-ClubCorp’s stock price in 2017 to take the company private. Insiders estimate it could now be valued at about $4.5 billion in an IPO.

The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas (Courtesy of Invited)

The rebranding announcement was made as the ClubCorp Classic, a new event on PGA Tour Champions, gets underway Friday near Dallas, and the new name will be trumpeted there this weekend. The tournament will be renamed the Invited Celebrity Classic next year.