Firestone Racing: qualifying at Toronto

Firestone qualifying highlight: Dario Franchitti squeezed more speed out of a used set of Firestone alternate tires than when they were new a round earlier, to capture the pole for the first race of the doubleheader weekend. It is Franchitti’s third pole position of the season and the fifth of his career in Toronto. Franchitti’s best lap in the Firestone Fast Six was nearly a tenth of a second better than his quick time in the second round of knockout qualifying, when the red-sidewall alternate set of tires was brand new.

Most drivers started each qualifying segment on a set of Firestone black-sidewall primary tires and then switched to a set of alternates at the conclusion of the segment. An exception was Sebastien Bourdais, who ran just a new set of alternates in each of the first two segments and pushed hard on a used set in the Firestone Fast Six. The unique strategy nearly paid off as Bourdais qualified second, less then a tenth of a second behind Franchitti. (A tire use chart for all the drivers throughout qualifying is attached.)

Qualifying temperatures: Track temperatures ranged from 96°-108° F (36°-42° C) and the ambient temperatures ranged from 71°-73° F (22°-23° C).

From pole winner Dario Franchitti, #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/ Firestone: “I got my first pole here back in 1997, which in some ways seems like a long time ago and in some ways seems like yesterday. We’ll see if we can make something happen with it tomorrow. The car was good today on the Firestone blacks (primary tires) and the Firestone reds (alternate tires). I’m not finding too big of a balance shift from blacks to reds and the reds were hanging on well, too. Even in Q3 (Firestone Fast Six) on those used tires, I was able to push it a little harder and get the pole.”

Firestone Racing