Dixon, Kanaan Testing At New Hampshire

September 1st, 2010

LOUDON, N.H. — Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon took part in the first day of a two-day Firestone tire test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Tuesday, and both drivers put down some impressive lap times.

The goal of the test for Firestone was to determine the appropriate tire combination for the return of the series to the 1.058-mile asphalt oval. The series last raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 1998.

“The track is very suitable for these cars,” said Dixon, who was more than 1.5 seconds faster than 1998 IZOD IndyCar Series pole speed and six seconds faster than the NASCAR Sprint Cup track qualifying record. “The key points are picking the tire and an aero package that is going to be good for the racing and the fans.”

Firestone brought nearly 400 tires of 20 different compounds to the track. Among them was the same tire compound the series used when it visited The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis., last season, which Firestone Racing Senior Project Manager Dale Harrigle said served as a control tire.

“When the IRL announced this race in Loudon, obviously we had a history here from ’96 through ’98, but the closest track we ran at most recently was Milwaukee,” said Harrigle. “Our baseline tire is the 2009 Milwaukee tire. We took that construction, put some current compounds on it and brought it here as our control tire. We also have some compounds that are a little softer and a little harder to give us a good range.

“We completed our runs on the control tires to get the guys comfortable, give both teams time to work on their car setup and then we’ll go through our range of compounds to see where we are. On (Wednesday), we’ll evaluate where we are with the appropriate level of grip, hardness and durability for a fuel stint,” Harrigle said.

IZOD IndyCar Series Technical Director Kevin Blanch said the aero package used at The Milwaukee Mile was a perfect place for the teams to start.

“Out of the box we were very close,” said Blanch. “In qualifying, with the package we have now, the drivers can probably get flat if the car is really good. In the race, there will be no way you’re going to get flat. They’ll have to constantly work the throttle, which is what you want. The track is going to lend itself to really good racing when we get the numbers right on the downforce.”

For Dixon, the test was really a tease for the race, which is scheduled for Aug. 14 next year.

“I’m excited to be back on another short track,” said Dixon. “I can’t wait to get back here for the real thing.”