IRL: Homestead Firestone Friday practice notes

As teams experimented with different set-ups -- tweaking, tuning and adjusting the various components of their cars - the Firestone Firehawk racing radials provided a reliable foundation throughout today's practice sessions at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Menard driver Greg Ray was fastest for the day, with a speed of 198.165 mph, followed by Eliseo Salazar, with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, at 197.244 mph.

Quote from Firestone Racing Project Supervisor Joe Barbieri: "When a team has not raced at a facility before, they spend a lot of time in the first practice sessions seeing what will work and what won't. Since one adjustment affects another, many of the teams tell us the consistency of their Firestone tires is invaluable in finding the best set-up for their car and driver. They know the tires are going to perform the same lap after lap, so that allows them to effectively evaluate other elements of their set-up. Our engineers provide team managers critical information about tire temperature and wear. These factors help the team make those delicate adjustments necessary for such a competitive series."

Driver Quotes

Scott Sharp, Kelley Racing, Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone: "I'm really happy with the grip of these tires. They look good when they come off and they stay real consistent. I put a fair amount of laps on them and they just hung right in there."

Eliseo Salazar, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Dallara/Oldsmobile/Firestone: "The tires worked great today, even with the crosswinds they always stayed there; they were perfect. And the consistency was unbelievable. We were second fastest at one point with a set that had 45 laps on them."

Practice session temperatures ranged from 91 to 108 degrees track and from 81 to 85 degrees ambient (Fahrenheit).

-Woody McMillin