IRL: Firestone Phoenix qualifying notes

Ray Earns 10th IRL Pole On Firestone Firehawks

It's official. As of today, Team Menard driver Greg Ray has collected 10 IRL poles on Firestone tires, the most of any current or past driver in IRL competition. He is followed on the pole-winning chart by former IRL driver Tony Stewart, who earned eight (also all on Firestone tires).

Al Speyer, Bridgestone/Firestone Motorsports Director: "Just when you think the cars have gone about as fast as they can go on any given day, Greg Ray turns the heat up a notch. He's told us, time after time, that the consistency of his Firehawks is a major factor in his team's ability to prep the car for qualifying. We're very proud to be a part of the Team Menard program, and congratulate Greg for another tremendous performance. Tomorrow's race should be a real scorcher; not just in terms of temperature, but in terms of racing excitement. When you give these teams and drivers a good track like this one, you need to just get ready for some good racing. We think the fans are in for a real treat Sunday."

Greg Ray, Team Menard, Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone: "We only used one set of tires in three practice sessions. I think we had somewhere between 80 and 85 laps on them and they were the same on lap 80 as they were on lap 15. They were wonderful. I'm a little disappointed in myself. On the second lap I made a mistake and had to back out of the throttle. But we're really looking forward to tomorrow; we're focusing on what's going to happen during the race.

-Firestone Racing