Firestone Wins Ultimate Victory
26 October 1999
Firestone Wins Ultimate Victory
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 26 -- The current tire war in CART and
IRL has ended. While the Firestone program can easily lay claim to victory
with four consecutive CART championships, three IRL championships and a string
of other indicators of its dominance since it returned to the top forms of
racing just five years ago, there are mixed emotions in the Firestone camp
following Goodyear's announcement today it is quitting.
"We're extremely disappointed Goodyear has chosen to withdraw from two
more of the top forms of open-wheel competition," said Bridgestone/Firestone
Motorsports Director Al Speyer. "We know their losses, particularly in the
Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams series, were difficult to
endure, and we have suspected for some time now they would pull out of CART
and IRL, just as they did when the competition became difficult in Formula
One.
"This boils down to tire performance. Firestone developed consistently
superior race tires. The motorsports market reacted. Teams and drivers
switched to Firestone to gain an advantage and win races. Our technology won.
"Some may consider Goodyear's retreat from CART, IRL and Formula One as
the ultimate victory for us, but we really wish they would stay in Champ and
Indy car racing, and return to Formula One," Speyer continued. "We're proud
of our motorsports accomplishments in the last five years, and obviously we'll
continue our research and development effort to keep race tire technology
evolving to meet our next tire competitor. Racing at this level is very
important for the benefits it provides in the development of new technology
for our consumer tires. But we'll miss the challenge of tire competition in
two more of the world's most demanding open-wheel series.
"While we certainly didn't want Goodyear to leave, we can understand their
dilemma. For most of the last five years they've been playing catch-up with
our racing technology. As they continually worked to improve their tires,
more teams and drivers each year switched to Firestone Firehawks, seeking a
competitive advantage. Then, despite bringing in their best engineers from
the hastily abandoned Formula One program, they still couldn't match the
performance benchmarks our engineers kept setting. We know it was frustrating
for them to give it their best and still lose races.
"By withdrawing from those arenas where it faces tough competition, and by
locking up contracts with a series, as it has done in NASCAR, Goodyear's claim
to being number one in racing is now even more questionable."
The reversal of fortunes in tire competition began in 1995, the first year
a Firestone-equipped car had appeared in a Champ or Indy car race in two
decades. The 17-race schedule that year saw Firestone win twice - despite
having only five drivers and virtually no testing on CART's street circuits.
The following year, the number of Firestone-equipped drivers had doubled
to 10, and the Firestone program won 10 of 16 CART events, three of five IRL
events (including its 49th Indianapolis 500 win). Firestone took the CART
championship outright, and tied for the IRL championship.
The next year, 1997, the number of Firehawk drivers in CART had tripled to
15 and the Firestone program claimed 13 victories in 17 races, again winning
the CART championship. Firestone drivers that year won six of eight IRL
races, the season championship and its 50th Indianapolis 500 victory.
A total of 19 drivers were on Firestone tires in most of the 1998 CART
races, a season that saw Firestone win 18 of 19 events and its third
consecutive CART championship. It was a watershed year for the Firestone
program as its drivers owned CART tracks, regardless of type. Firestone
drivers started from the pole position in 18 events, led every lap in five
races, led 72 percent of all race laps, won every road and street course
event, won every 500-mile event, claimed the top-three finishing positions in
nine races, captured nine of the top-10 ranks in the points race, including
the top six.
The domination continued in 1999 as the number of drivers selecting to
compete on Firehawks was 22 or 23 at most CART races. Firestone-equipped CART
drivers in 1999 won 18 of the 19 races already contested. In those events,
Firestone drivers led 2,419 of 2,519 laps (96%). Firestone also claimed its
third IRL championship (since the Indy Racing League was formed in 1996).
"We hope Goodyear will eventually return to CART and IRL or that another
tire manufacturer will recognize the value of competition in these demanding
series and join us on tracks around the globe," Speyer said. "CART and IRL
courses are the toughest of the tough in motorsports. In CART, the mixture of
large and small ovals, road and street courses, and racing in rain requires
you to have the best tire engineers in the world if you're going to win
consistently. If you're going to compete, you must have confidence in your
engineers and their ability to design and produce competitive tires. Our
engineers thrive on competition; they love the challenge. We're hopeful they
have some soon in CART and IRL. If not, we're optimistic other opportunities
for tire competition will develop in the near future."