IndyCar
IRL: Phoenix: Firestone race report
Kanaan Dominates at Phoenix Tony Kanaan dominated today in the blistering Arizona heat, picking up his first victory of the season and his second in a row at Phoenix International Raceway. Passing polesitter and Andretti Green Racing teammate ...
Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:32 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Kanaan Dominates at Phoenix
Tony Kanaan dominated today in the blistering Arizona heat, picking up his first victory of the season and his second in a row at Phoenix International Raceway. Passing polesitter and Andretti Green Racing teammate Dan Wheldon on the first lap, Kanaan led all but nine laps of the race.
Two of Kanaan's three Andretti Green teammates 0x2022 Wheldon and Bryan Herta 0x2022 also finished in the top 10 (third and seventh, respectively). Reigning series champion Scott Dixon bounced back from a disappointing finish at Homestead to finish in second place.
The Firestone Firehawk racing radials held up perfectly under unseasonably hot conditions, giving all of the drivers a chance to race hard all the way to the checkered flag.
"The tires were very good all day," said Kanaan. "These were the worst conditions we could possibly have and still they held up really well. Obviously, after 65 laps everything can start to go away, not just the tires -- but they worked perfect all the way to the end. Firestone did a great job as usual -- those guys are always on top of their game, and I appreciate all the effort they put into it."
Quote from Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing: "It was an incredibly hot day, but the Firestone tires performed extremely well and many of the drivers commented about the consistency throughout the race. We congratulate Tony Kanaan for a well-earned victory and for taking the points lead out of Phoenix. It's a great day for the entire Andretti Green organization. We're now looking forward to the next race at Motegi and entertaining the Japanese racing fans, including many of our own associates from our world headquarters in Tokyo."
Firestone Performance Award: Tony Kanaan also earned a $10,000 bonus from Firestone Racing for leading lap 89 of today's race. The award commemorates Firestone competing in every Indy Racing League IndyCar event since the series' beginning in 1996.
Firestone Media Gallery: A host of photos from today's race is available for media use at no charge by going to www.firestonemediagallery.com. Please credit Firestone Racing in the caption of any photos used.
Race temperatures ranged from 117 to 124 degrees track and from 96 to 98 degrees ambient (F).
Race temperatures ranged from 47 to 51 degrees track and from 36 to 37 degrees ambient (C).
-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: Phoenix warmup times
Next article IPS: IRL: Phoenix postscript
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Dixon
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
IndyCar
IndyCar
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
IndyCar
IndyCar
Ganassi on Lundgaard signing: “When is the last time a guy who finished third was available"
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
McLaren Racing and Edward Jones join forces in multi-year F1 and IndyCar partnership
Latest news
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
3 min
Why Christian Horner banned Mercedes' name as Red Bull built its own F1 engine
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
1 h
Laurent Mekies extends contract as Red Bull's F1 team boss
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
Alex Palou to drive Indy NXT machinery in Chris Griffis Memorial Test at IMS
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
2 h
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
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