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IndyCar, Firestone Add Spice to Season Finale with Alternate Tires for Nashville

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Alternate Tires to Spice Up IndyCar Season FinalePenske Entertainment/James Black

This year's NTT IndyCar Series season finale at Nashville Superspeedway just got a little more interesting.

IndyCar and Firestone announced on Friday that the tire maker will be bringing alternate compound tire options for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix presented by Gainbridge on Sept. 14-15. In addition to a primary compound tire for the race, teams will have the option of using softer alternate tires.

Those alternate tires will be marked with red sidewalls for the race weekend.

Tire rules for the weekend's racing, according to IndyCar:

Six sets of primary-compound tires

Four sets of alternate-compound tires

Teams may use their weekend allotment unrestricted in practice and 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 qualifying.

Each entry will also 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

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The alternate tire rules are intended to add more strategy and hopefully excitement for the finale.

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Josef Newgarden won IndyCar’s other race alternate-tire race on an oval in August at World Wide Technology Raceway.Penske Entertainment/Joe Skibinski

This will be the second race on ovals where IndyCar and Firestone will use alternate tires. Josef Newgarden won the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Aug. 17. Current points leader Alex Palou finished fourth.

“Firestone has done a phenomenal job with this expanded format,” IndyCar president Jay Frye said in a press release. “It will be interesting to watch how the different strategies play out. We look forward to an amazing race and championship for the NTT IndyCar Series at Nashville Superspeedway.”

Firestone says providing alternate tires for the new hybrid-powered cars at Nashville proved to be a challenge on multiple fronts.

“The time between the announcement of a new Nashville venue and the race itself was just seven months,” said Cara Krstolic, director, Race Tire Engineering and Production, chief engineer, Firestone. “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.”