IZOD IndyCar Series - Honda Indy Toronto

July 9, 2012

Top-5 Finishers: 1. Ryan Hunter-Reay; 2. Charlie Kimball; 3. Mike Conway; 4. Tony Kanaan; 5. Oriol Servia.

Firestone Tire Performance Recap: Firestone Racing brought its proven street course primary and alternate tire specifications to Toronto.  The same tires were previously utilized this season at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Sao Paulo and Detroit.  Durability was not an issue, and teams and drivers have plenty of data on these particular specifications to formulate tire strategies appropriately.  Ryan Hunter-Reay attributed a portion of his recent string of success (three race wins in a row) to a better understanding of the Firestone Firehawk racing tires.

From race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda/Andretti Autosport Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone: "My team gave me the car to win today, and we had it when it mattered again - at the end!  We didn't need to win the beginning of the race; we just needed to win the end.  It's just been such a pleasure.  I can't even believe three races in a row - this is going to take a second to settle in.  Now I'm thinking we have to do it again next weekend!  In IndyCar, in these street races, you just have to stick with it.  You just have to keep giving it 110 percent.  Today we had the right strategy; we had the right race car; we had the good pit stops; and I did it on the track.  The Firestone tires hung in there great.  I really took care of them, and I'm learning a lot about them.  These past three races have been my best ever races on these Firestone tires and in conserving them, so it's no coincidence that we've been winning."

From Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing: "Obviously Firestone Racing would like to offer a huge congratulations to Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport for winning three races in a row - they're certainly making a run for the championship as we enter the latter third of the season.  The Firestone Firehawk tires held up well all weekend long, and it was a rare occurrence that we were able to utilize all three specifications (primary, alternate and wet condition tires) over the course of the event, with rain before yesterday morning's practice.  With the consistent specs we've brought to street courses this year, the drivers are gaining confidence in how to best utilize their Firestone tires to put them in the best position at the end of a stint and the end of a race.  We're pleased to see another exciting race on the streets here in Toronto and are looking forward to the next stop on the Canadian swing in Edmonton two weeks from now."