IndyCar
CHAMPCAR/CART: Firestone Motegi qualifying notes
Another Fast Day At the Oval Office It was fast out there today - really fast. In fact, the top 11 quickest cars in today's qualifying session were faster than last year's pole sitter. And with the whole field running within about a second from ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:35 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Another Fast Day At the Oval Office
It was fast out there today - really fast. In fact, the top 11 quickest cars in today's qualifying session were faster than last year's pole sitter. And with the whole field running within about a second from the #1 grid spot to the #25 grid position, it's evident tomorrow's race is going to be extremely competitive. Marlboro Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves, today's pole winner with a 25.849 seconds lap, complimented his Firestone tires for contributing to a strong qualifying run. The talented Brazilian said "the car was just fantastic! Did you see that! I was really solid and would have been even faster if I hadn't pushed it too hard on turns three and four. But it only takes one good lap to be the fastest and today I did it."
Joe Barbieri:
"Tuesday night, during a press conference in Tokyo, Michael Andretti gave us a most unusual compliment. He said the Firestone tires were "too good." He said he remembered a time when he could count on a competitor's tires "going away" in a race, setting up an opportunity for him to pass. But since Firestone has been the sole tire supplier to CART for the last two seasons, he's no longer able to do that. In every session thus far at Motegi, we believe Michael and the other 24 drivers have used that consistent performance as a benchmark to fine-tune their machines. We fully expect tomorrow's race to be one of the best ever conducted at Motegi. The teams and drivers are obviously primed, the fans are already showing their enthusiasm, and the Firehawk radials are pumped and ready to go racing."
What other drivers said about their Firestone tires:
Michel Jourdain, Jr.: "The tires have been working so good; the consistency is great."
Dario Franchitti: "The tires are what you'd expect from Firestone; great grip, great consistency."
Alex Zanardi: "Grip and consistency have been very good; I can't see much drop off in performance."
<pre> Temperature Information (In Fahrenheit)
Time Ambient Track
9:30 a.m. 70 103
10:30 a.m. 72 104
1:30 p.m. 84 119
2:30 p.m. 82 109
-Firestone
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article IRL: Indy500: Practice results Thursday 2001-05-17
Next article IRL: Indy500: Thursday practice quotes 2001-05-17
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Zanardi
Laguna Seca formally dedicates 'The Zanardi Corkscrew'
IndyCar
IndyCar
Laguna Seca
Laguna Seca formally dedicates 'The Zanardi Corkscrew'
Iconic lightning bolt returns: Chip Ganassi Racing and DHL to honor Alex Zanardi at Laguna Seca
IndyCar
IndyCar
Laguna Seca
Iconic lightning bolt returns: Chip Ganassi Racing and DHL to honor Alex Zanardi at Laguna Seca
Alex Zanardi’s top 10 moments
IndyCar
Alex Zanardi’s top 10 moments
More from
Team Penske
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
Winners and losers from a frantic NASCAR Cup race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Latest news
NASCAR warned nearly the full field at Talladega for minimum speed violations
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
2 h
NASCAR warned nearly the full field at Talladega for minimum speed violations
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
6 h
Carson Hocevar credits tow truck driver for saving his race at Talladega
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
7 h
Brad Keselowski to address questions about NASCAR future and RFK exit at Martinsville
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
11 h
Hamlin says Chevy teams 'suck at the teat' of Hendrick on superspeedways
Feature
Discover prime content
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe