Firestone has been the exclusive tire supplier to the NTT IndyCar Series since 2000, and the Firestone Firehawk race tire is one of the most recognizable pieces of equipment in American open-wheel racing. Unlike Formula 1, which uses multiple dry-weather compounds at every event, IndyCar typically provides teams with two options: the primary compound (black sidewall) and the alternate compound (red sidewall). The primary is the harder, more durable tire designed for longer stints, while the alternate is softer and faster but degrades more quickly. This two-compound system creates a clear strategic framework that teams must navigate, deciding when to deploy their limited supply of alternates for maximum effect.
The diversity of the IndyCar schedule makes Firestone's job uniquely challenging. The series races on purpose-built road courses like Barber Motorsports Park, temporary street circuits like the streets of St. Petersburg and downtown Detroit, short ovals like Iowa Speedway, superspeedways like Texas Motor Speedway, and the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each type of venue demands a fundamentally different tire. Oval tires must withstand continuous high-speed loading in one direction and are constructed asymmetrically — the outside shoulder is reinforced to handle cornering forces, while the inner sidewall is designed for stability under aero load. Road and street course tires require symmetric construction for left and right turns, along with compounds that deliver grip under hard braking and rapid direction changes.
The Indianapolis 500 represents the ultimate test for Firestone's engineering. Cars reach speeds above 240 mph on the straightaways, and the tires must maintain structural integrity through sustained loads that would destroy ordinary rubber. Firestone brings a specific compound to Indianapolis that is optimized for the track's unique diamond-ground asphalt surface, and teams receive a limited allocation of tire sets for the entire month of May — covering practice, qualifying, and the race itself. Managing that allocation is a strategic exercise in itself: teams must decide how many sets to use learning the car's setup in practice versus saving fresh sets for qualifying and the race. A mistake in tire allocation can leave a team with worn rubber for the most important sessions.
Rain tires in IndyCar are a relatively recent development for oval races, but they have been a fixture on road and street courses for years. Firestone's rain tires feature deep circumferential grooves and lateral channels designed to evacuate water from the contact patch, and they are built on a different carcass than the dry-weather tires to provide more mechanical grip on slippery surfaces. On street circuits, where painted lines, manhole covers, and patched asphalt create a patchwork of grip levels, rain tires must perform on a wider variety of surfaces than almost any other racing tire in the world. The skill required to drive an IndyCar on rain tires on a street circuit — maintaining confidence at speeds above 100 mph on surfaces that would challenge a road car at 30 mph — is one of the sport's most impressive spectacles.
Firestone's motorsport program has always been closely linked to its consumer tire development, and the Firehawk name itself bridges the gap between the racetrack and the road. The compound research, heat management techniques, and structural engineering that go into IndyCar tires inform the design of Firestone's street-legal performance tires. When you buy Firestone tires from Ship.Tires, you are choosing a brand that proves its technology at 240 mph every May at Indianapolis. Whether you need all-season touring tires or high-performance summer rubber, our Firestone selection at Ship.Tires delivers race-proven reliability. Browse our inventory and experience the technology that wins at Indy.