IndyCar bringing alternate tire to an oval, using 2 compounds in Gateway race Aug. 27 Saturday’s Supercross Round 7 in Arlington: How to watch, start times, streaming info
The NTT IndyCar series will use optional tires for the first time this season for oval racing. The race on August 27 at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway will test alternative compounds.
The rules will be the same as for road and street circuits, which require the mandatory use of a new set of spares (traditionally referred to as “reds”) during the race. The alternative compound is designed to be softer and faster, but wears out faster than the base compound.
This leads to divergent strategies and often results in more overtaking during the race as the cars move forward faster and back out based on their tire wear.
The concept of an alternative tire compound has been around for nearly 20 years since Firestone introduced it. with 2004 Long Beach Grand Prix.
Alternative tires were fully featured in the IndyCar series for the 2009 season. and have been used in street and road racing ever since.
Firestone will also use the new tire, made from more environmentally friendly materials, on street circuits in the 2023 season.
“We are committed to sustainability in all areas of our business and we are thrilled to promote guayule and other sustainable practices in America’s leading open wheel racing series.”
Read more about sustainability growth in 2023 below. @FirestoneRacing.
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 23, 2023
Debuting last year in Nashville, the tire, derived from the desert guayule bush, will make its season opener March 5 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bridgestone, the parent company of Firestone, has invested $42 million to establish a planting and harvesting center for guayule native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
“We are committed to sustainability in all areas of our business and we are thrilled to promote guayule and other sustainable practices in America’s premier open wheel racing series,” Paolo Ferrari, CEO of Bridgestone Americas, said in a press release. “Firestone has a huge legacy of innovation and racing performance that we will continue to build on as we enter a new era of cleaner, safer and more sustainable mobility on and off the track.”
The announcement of an alternative tire for the Gateway was one of several elements of the competition that IndyCar unveiled on Friday:
– In addition to the new mobile medical unit, there will be several safety improvements, including mandatory rain vanes to drain water from the airscreen in wet conditions; new rear muffler and stronger rear wheel cables; new rear LED rain lights; new and higher headrest protection; new mandatory steering arm designed for greater durability;
EM Motorsports telemetry will be added to the EM Marshalling System, giving teams the ability to get reliable information faster from IndyCar (which will also get more “wireless” elements).
– IndyCar will make several aerodynamic changes, including optional short oval barge sides for road and street events, and optional underwing sidewall and braided grille for Texas Motor Speedway. New optional braided fender liner, new mandatory braided weaves for stability, and a new optional underwing inner bargeboard will be available for the oval Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and cars will be allowed an additional 3 degrees of range on the adjustable rear fender. There are also additional underwing road and road lanes.
o Weaving to fill the freeway became optional (also at Texas Motor Speedway).
– IndyCar will once again hold second groove training in Texas and Gateway.
– The first red flag during the first qualifying round of the road and street course will stop the 10-minute clock (the clock counts subsequent red flags). Firestone Fast Six still has 6 minutes of guaranteed time. The qualifying clock now starts when the first car crosses the alternate start-finish line.
Eli Tomac will take another step in Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series history as the 2023 season continues with Round 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Yamaha rider took his fourth win of the season last week in Oakland. Ricky Carmichael is third on the all-time win list with 48. Next on the list is James Stewart (50 wins).
With his 88th career podium, Tomac passed Carmichael for fourth on the all-time list. Tomac is also the third rider in Supercross history to score at least one win in every round (joining Jeremy McGrath and Ryan Villopoto).
Arlington will be the 45th Supercross event at the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and 16th at AT&T Stadium.
Saturday is the second Triple Crown event of the 2023 season. Tomac won the first in Anaheim and also won the Triple Crown in Arlington in 2020.
Here are the important details for watching Round 7 of the 2023 Supercross season in Arlington:
(All times are Eastern Time)
BROADCAST / BROADCAST SCHEDULE: Round 7 TV will begin on Saturday at 8:00 pm ET on Peacock. Race Day Live (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 2:30 pm ET on Saturday.
NBC Sports will provide exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and rides for a record 31 Supermotocross events. Key events will be featured on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC and NBC Sports digital platforms.
peacock will be home to the Super Motocross World Championship Series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying and heats from January to October. Exclusively on Peacock, 23 races will be broadcast, including the playoffs of the Supermotocross World Championship. The platform will also provide replays of each race upon request. Click here to view the full schedule.
POINTS OF REGULATIONS: 450 divisions l 250 divisions
LISTS OF PARTICIPANTS: 450 divisions l 250 divisions
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES (all times Eastern Time):
Here are the start times for Arlington Supercross Round 7 Saturday, according to the AMA’s Monster Energy Supercross schedule:
13:45: 250SX Group C Qualifying 1
14:00: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
14:15: 250SX Group A Qualification 1
14:30: 450SX Group A Qualification 1
14:45: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
3pm: 450SX Group C Qualifying 1
15:35: 250SX Group C Qualification 2
15:50: 250SX Group B Qualification 2
16:05: 250SX Group A Qualification 2
16:20: 450SX Group A Qualification 2
16:35: 450SX Group B Qualification 2
16:50: 450SX Group C Qualification 2
17:45: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
17:55: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
20:06: 250SX Race 1
20:31: 450SX Race 1
20:11: 250SX Race 2
20:29: 450SX Race 2
22:13: 250SX Race 3
22:39: 450SX Race 3
TRACK SCHEME:
Click here to view the route map
HOW TO WATCH THE 2023 SUPERMOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON: Full version of NBC Sports, Peacock schedule.
FINAL RESULT 2022: 450 points in the standings | 250 Eastern points of the standings | 250 West points
2023 SEASON REVIEW
1 ROUND: Eli Tomac opens title defense with win
ROUND 2: Tomac equals Ricky Carmichael in Supercross win list
ROUND 3: Tomac restrains Cooper Webb again
ROUND 4: Chase Sexton wins Anaheim Triple Crown
ROUND 5: Eli Tomac leads wire after wire in Houston
6 ROUND: Cooper Webb breaks through in Tampa
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Source: motorsports.nbcsports.com