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.”
The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 follows two weeks of on-track activity and a range of events that fill the second half of May. Here’s a list of daily action to plan your days around: TUESDAY, MAY 14 (all times Eastern) 9-11am, Practice, …
The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 follows two weeks of on-track activity and a range of events that fill the second half of May. Here’s a list of daily action to plan your days around:
TUESDAY, MAY 14 (all times Eastern)
9-11am, Practice, all cars, broadcast on Peacock
1-6pm, Practice, all cars, broadcast on Peacock
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
12-6pm, Practice, broadcast on Peacock
THURSDAY, MAY 16
12-6pm, Practice, broadcast on Peacock
FRIDAY, MAY 17 (“Fast Friday,” engines set to high turbo boost for teams to work on qualifying setups)
12-6pm, Practice, broadcast on Peacock
6:15pm: Qualifying order draw, base of the pagoda.
SATURDAY, MAY 18 (First day of qualifying, positions 13-30 set, top 12 carry over to Sunday to run for the pole, slowest four carry over to Sunday to fight for the last three starting positions)
8:30-9am, Group 1 Practice, broadcast on Peacock until 9:30am
9-9:30am, Group 2 Practice
11am-5pm, Qualifying, broadcast on Peacock
SUNDAY, MAY 19 (Pole Day, Bump Day)
12-1pm, Fast 12 Practice, broadcast on Peacock until 2pm
1-2pm, Last Chance Qualifying Practice
3:05-4:05pm, Fast 12 Qualifying, positions 7-12 set, broadcast on NBC until 6pm
4:15-5:15pm, LCQ Qualifying, one entry will be bumped
5:25-5:55pm, Fast Six qualifying, pole and positions 2-6 set
Alex Palou was last year’s polesitter. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
MONDAY, MAY 20
1-3pm, Practice, broadcast on Peacock
TUESDAY, MAY 21
No on-track activity
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
No on-track activity
THURSDAY, MAY 23
No on-track activity
FRIDAY, MAY 24 (Carb Day)
11am-1pm, Final Practice, broadcast on Peacock
2:30-4pm, Pit Stop Competition, broadcast on Peacock
4:00pm, Concerts: George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Gin Blossoms, Kid Quill
SATURDAY, MAY 25
No on-track activity
9-10am, Drivers Autograph Session, behind the pagoda
12-1pm, Former IndyCar Drivers Autograph Session, behind the pagoda
1:30-2:30pm, Former IndyCar Drivers Autograph Session, behind the pagoda
SUNDAY, MAY 26 (Race Day)
9am-9:20 am, Cars to pit lane
10:30-10:55am, Cars to grid
10:37-10:58am, Indy Winners and Historic Indy 500 Cars laps
A big few days coming up for a few former Golden Domers
With Super Bowl 58 being played in classic fashion this past weekend, the NFL calendar now moves to the off-season.
While the Chiefs are busy celebrating this week, the rest of the league turns and looks at what they can do to improve their rosters both for the short term and long term in the coming months.
The next big event on the NFL calendar is the scouting combine that is held annually in Indianapolis. There draft prospects get to work out in front of and interview with interested teams.
Notre Dame had eight former players invited to the combine this year which takes place from February 26 through March 4.
Those players are:
QB Sam Hartman
RB Audric Estime
OL Joe Alt
OL Blake Fisher
DL Javontae Jean-Baptiste
LB JD Bertrand
LB Marist Liufau
DB Cam Hart
[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] grew up in Dayton, Ohio. That means the NBA geographically closest to him was the Indiana Pacers. Now as an adult, he is the coach of Notre Dame inside the Pacers’ home state. Even though it still is a good drive between South Bend and Indianapolis, Freeman probably feels a stronger connection to his favorite team than ever.
To that end, Freeman was a special guest of the Pacers before their 131-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors. You name it, he did it. He talked to the Pacers before the game, hung with their mascot, took part in a pregame ritual and even took a photo with Stephen Curry, who surely was inspired to enough by Freeman to drop 42 points, including 11 3-pointers.
You probably are bored by everything that’s being written about this and want to actually see some of it. Fortunately, social media has all of that covered:
Former Notre Dame player [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] had quite the 2023 WNBA season. She was the league’s scoring champion and the MVP for its All-Star Game. Now, she’ll get a chance to compete during NBA All-Star Weekend.
Loyd was among the many names announced for the annual NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, which will take place the Friday before the big event in Indianapolis. She will play for Team Shannon, named for coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who is coaching because of his employment with ESPN, which is broadcasting the game. They’ll be playing a team coached by Stephen A. Smith.
By playing in the game, Loyd will be the fourth former Notre Dame player in the WNBA to do so. She’ll be joining [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag], [autotag]Ruth Riley[/autotag] and two-time selection [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag]. While you look forward to this year’s event, here are some images of a couple of these players in this game over the years:
It is a beautiful court and a great tribute to a state that loves its basketball. Imagine checking your bag before your departure and instead of waiting at your gate, you can get in a quick pick-up game before your departure.
While it is wonderful to fantasize about passing time before your flight by hooping, unfortunately, fans aren’t allowed to play on this court (via WTHR):
“The main attraction of the new decorations is a life-size NBA court that has been installed in the middle of the main lobby. While fans won’t be able to play basketball on the court, they’ll be able to walk on it and take photos.”
The photo opportunity is still fun, but it doesn’t quite have the same impact as it would feel to win a five-on-five run before taking off to a new city.
Even though it is disappointing to realize that this court won’t ever see any competition, this is probably for the best.
For one, the airport avoids plenty of injury risk by not allowing any games.
This would also cause some potentially major interference with the flow of the airport lobby, which includes plenty of passengers who would likely have no interest in getting hit with a ball that leaves the field of play.
We are all missing out on some fun by not making this court an active sight for hooping. But all we can do is accept that we can not always get what we want.
The state of Indiana loves its basketball. It’s also never going to waste an opportunity to remind just how much it loves basketball.
Case in point: the Indiana Pacers are hosting the NBA All-Star Game in February, so the Indianapolis International Airport added a full-length basketball court right in the middle of a terminal in honor of the occasion.
No, really. There’s a basketball court in the airport, complete with stanchions, glass backboards with shot clocks and a hardwood-ready paint job on the floor. The only thing missing is a basketball.
Brian Mason was only at Notre Dame for one season but his time won’t soon be forgotten.
Mason took a Notre Dame team that for the previous decade had been at best, very mediocre, on special teams, and made them rather special.
Mason oversaw a Notre Dame team that blocked seven punts last season. It was two more than any other program nationally and after his incredible showing, the Indianapolis Colts offered him their special teams coaching job.
Mason took that and although he didn’t make the same splash in seemingly just seconds like he did at Notre Dame, he did have a massive showing this past Sunday.
The Colts were in Tennessee to take on the Titans and trailing late in the third quarter. That’s when Mason’s punt block unit took care of business and turned the tide of the game as they blocked and returned two-straight Tennesssee punts for touchdowns.
The Colts are now 7-5 and sit very much a part of the AFC playoff picture. Sunday’s win certainly had to do with the guy who was calling special teams in South Bend just a year ago.
There was little doubt that Porsche Penske Motorsport came into Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle On the Bricks on a mission to win. For one thing, the No. 6 Porsche 963 squad with …
There was little doubt that Porsche Penske Motorsport came into Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship TireRack.com Battle On the Bricks on a mission to win. For one thing, the No. 6 Porsche 963 squad with Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy needed a victory to get back into the fight for the championship; they got it, and go into the finale in a virtual three-way tie for the championship. For another, team owner Roger Penske has also owned the famed track since 2020, so a one-two finish is almost expected.
But more than just owning the track is the Indy legacy that Penske has created. This first sports car win at the Brickyard for Penske is his 29th at Indianapolis, a record unmatched. It adds to 19 wins in the Indianapolis 500, the first coming in 1972 with Mark Donohue and the most recent this past May with Josef Newgarden. Then there are eight IndyCar Series wins on the Indy road course and a Brickyard 400 NASCAR victory. It’s also Penske’s 35th IMSA win.
“It was really important for us to get a one-two here,” said Matt Campbell, polesitter for the race and second-place finisher with Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 963. “This place is pretty special to our team, so to be able to do this on, let’s say, our home track, is really, really special. And obviously big congrats to the [No. 6 group]. They did a great race and it’s fantastic for their championship. It’s a really, really good position now for the team looking into the final race of the year.”
Like Australian Campbell, Brit Tandy may not have grown up steeped in Indy 500 lore or eagerly anticipating the month of May, but the meaning of winning the first GTP race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is certainly not lost on him.
“This is Indianapolis. You know, it’s a world-renowned historic venue. The IMSA series is a world-renowned historic race series, so coming into a venue like this, especially for Porsche Penske Motorsport and all the ties that Penske Corporation have with this place, is massive. It means a huge amount and the fact that team had a one-two makes it even sweeter.”
Nick Tandy said on Friday the only real way for he and Mathieu Jaminet to be in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title fight when the season concludes at Petit Le Mans next month was to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mission …
Nick Tandy said on Friday the only real way for he and Mathieu Jaminet to be in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP title fight when the season concludes at Petit Le Mans next month was to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Mission accomplished as the two Porsche Penske Motorsport went one-two in Roger Penske’s playground.
“Second win of the season, came back in the championship fight, so it’s a great day for Porsche, for the whole team,” said Jaminet. “And the first one-two for for the Porsche Penske operation, so I think that’s a day for history books. Really pleased with that.”
The two PPM 963s had been dominant all weekend, leading all the practice sessions and locking out the front row in qualifying. In particular, it was Matt Campbell in the No. 7 who had been quickest. But a lockup at the start – deja vu for Campbell after a similar incident from pole at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – and another at a critical moment for Campbell’s co-driver Felipe Nasr meant their teammates took their second victory of the season in the No. 6 963. It also turned the championship into a four-way battle at the finale, thanks in part to Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly finishing third in the No. 25 BMW.
Polesitter Campbell locked up heading into Turn 1 at the start and ran wide, sending Jaminet to the front.
“It was tough race for us,” said Campbell after noting the importance of the one-two finish for the team. “It sort of started going to shit a little bit at Turn 1. I just couldn’t stop the car on a dirty line, unfortunately, and just ran that little bit wide.”
Campbell’s bobble may have contributed to a mess behind him, where Philipp Eng in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 tagged Sebastien Bourdais’s No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac, spinning it. Tom Blomqvist couldn’t get the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06 stopped in time, and the Acura and Cadillac had nose-to-nose contact. Bourdais had to take the Cadillac in for emergency service during the ensuing full-course caution (two GTD cars also had contact at the start, giving further cause for a caution) for a new nose and tire. Blomqvist was left with an ill-handling car until the nose could be replaced during the first pit stop, which came during a full-course caution. Neither car would be much of a factor afterward.
That left Jaminet in the lead, Campbell in pursuit, with the pair of BMWs in third (No. 24) and fourth (No. 25). Things quickly went south for Eng and the No. 24, as he first had to pit for a new tire, then a new nose, and then a long stop for a power-loss issue that left him 10 laps down.
While the two PPM 963s finished-one two at the boss’s racetrack, where naturally they had had an abundance of testing, it was far from a sure thing in the middle of the race. Through a rather bizarre set of circumstances that began with the second of the race’s two full-course cautions – which came somewhat ideally for most competitors at just under two hours to go in the race, Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R was in command. In fact, one of the most memorable images of IMSA’s return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway may have been Derani jockeying with Tandy for position behind the safety car.
All the GTP leaders came in for tires, fuel and new drivers, with the exception of AXR, which kept Derani in the car while changing tires and fueling. Derani actually left the pits in between the two Porsches, but couldn’t merge and had to fall behind before the pit exit. When the class split commenced, the Porsches didn’t go, and Derani did. Officials determined that Nasr and Tandy hadn’t followed proper procedure for the class split, and had to give the lead to Derani. For a few moments of confusion, they seemed to be fighting for the position as they circulated behind the safety car.
“I was a little late, getting the call to go, but I had already pulled out in line to initiate the class split and and I went for it,” explained Tandy. “But at the same time, the 31 obviously had already started exhilarating and did pass us before we made made the class split. So I maintained my my position that we had, hopefully, done the procedure correct, they obviously felt that they had done the procedure correctly, and it was obviously ruled by race control that they should be in front. It compromised, a little bit I think both of our tire warm-up, being side by side for two laps.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1406]
Derani was in front, and determined to stay there. Nasr got by Tandy, and proceeded to attack whenever the opportunity arose, but Derani remained in control for a while, even getting some nice advantages in traffic. With a little over an hour to go, Derani got held up by a couple of LMP3 cars racing each other in the Turn 12-13 complex. That gave Nasr a good run down the long front straight, and as Derani approached the turn, moving inside another P3 car, he locked up and ran wide just as Campbell had done at the start. Both Porsches went through, Nasr leading over Tandy.
For 20 minutes they battled, nearly touching each other at one point, until the final round of pit stops. Nasr brought the No. 7 in first, but on cold tires on the out lap, he locked up and slid into the grass while Tandy was getting tires and fuel. That was the difference in the race, and the No. 6 cruised to victory without further harassment.
“It feels good,” declared Jaminet. “I’ve been very disappointed since Watkins Glen. We’ve had only — pretty much — bad races. And looking at it, it still hurts. So we finally get a win back, and that put us back on the championship hunt. And I’m just hungry for more, to be honest. I just want to go to Atlanta now and race.”
The No. 31 was still looking at a podium finish, which would have put the team in a much better position going into the finale, but De Phillippi took over third after Derani handed the Cadillac over to Alexander Sims, who brought the No. 31 home fourth. Erstwhile championship leaders Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor finished fifth in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura.
The fact that the top four in the championship finished in inverse order of the points coming in meant that it’s a dead heat going into the Petit Le Mans finale for the first championship of the new GTP era. Sims and Derani now lead with 2460 points. Albuquerque and Taylor are only three points back, and Jaminet and Tandy are five points off the lead. But De Phillippi and Yelloly still have a solid shot at the title, being only 38 points – which could be two positions in the race – out of the lead. Even Nasr and Campbell, as unlikely as it might be, are within reach of the championship.
“I said before the weekend, we really simply needed to win here to have a decent shot going into Atlanta, and it’s given us a chance at the end of the day,” said Tandy. “To give the people that work in his team a chance of winning a championship in Atlanta. It’s amazing. So really, really pleased to cross that yard [of bricks]. It was it was an emotional moment for sure.
Jake Galstad/Lumen
Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen won LMP2 in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA, propelling them into the lead of that class championship.
“When we started the year our goal was to win the championship,” said Thomas. “So that’s at the front of our mind all the time. But you know, right in front of you is a win in Indianapolis, so that’s a pretty big deal if you’re a racer anywhere in the world. So we were thrilled to get the win and thrilled now to be in first place.”
It wasn’t an easy victory by any means. When Jensen got in the car, he had a big deficit to the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car of Dan Goldburg and Louis Deletraz, and the PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA of Ben Keating and Paul-Loup Chatin, but they had pitted during the second yellow leaving them with more than an hour-and-a-half to go for two stints, and needed to drive conservatively to make it to the end.
“When we had the yellow, the Tower car and the PR1 car pitted, but it was probably three laps short for them to make it to the end, so they had to fuel save,” explained Jensen. “So when I got in the car, I had 50s to the leader, 40 seconds to P2. And obviously they have to fuel save, but you never know how much do you have to push. After the first stint I was up in second and then only had to pass for the lead. But the whole race you’re hunting something and I think they were even over doing their fuel numbers to try and see if they could put pressure on us. But we just tried to stay consistent, focus on our own race and at the end they had to give up and lost a lot of pace because they had to save a lot of fuel.”
Goldburg and Deletraz ended up second, and George Kurtz and Ben Hanley in the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR ORECA were third. Jensen and Thomas lead Keating and Chatin in the championship by 20 points, 1680 to 1660. It’s another 80 points back to Kurtz and Hanley.
Jake Galstad/Lumen
The LMP3 championship may be out of reach, but Anthony Mantella and Wayne Boyd had plenty to celebrate after taking the second LMP3 victory of the season, the first coming in the non-points Rolex 24 at Daytona. Boyd had to overcome his own spin in the No. 17 AWA Duqueine to take the victory, however.
“I had a lack of talent in Turn 8 early on in my stint,” Boyd explainjed. “I just took too much curb and lost it but, thankfully, it was basically a 360 and we got going again very quickly. It was interesting because … it wasn’t planned, but it actually opened up our strategy a little bit more because we were kind of further back, then it allowed us to go longer in the stint, which really paid off into our favor.”
Mantella and Boyd are 244 points back of Gar Robinson, who has virtually clinched the championship, and 29 points ahead of Garret Grist going into the finale.
