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[h=2]IndyCar tire allotment changes being considered[/h] Monday, 06 November 2017


By Marshall Pruett / Images by Gavin Baker/LAT



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A significant change to tire allocation rules is under consideration by the Verizon IndyCar Series. If it's approved by IndyCar's competition department, rookie drivers and those outside the top 10 in points could receive an extra set of Firestones to use at their discretion.

"We're looking at it and think it would be helpful for rookies," competition president Jay Frye told RACER. "I'm still a little bit mixed on it for drivers outside the top 10, and it wouldn't start right away for them. It wouldn't start at Race 2 or Race 3; you might have some people who've had a bad race and that's the only reason they're not in the top 10, so what we're discussing is maybe starting after the Indy 500 for that program.
"But I think for the rookies, who we always hear are needing more track time and have to conserve their sets of tires [in practice] which holds them back, this could be a good way around that problem for them."

























Frye is also conscious of the fact that with most teams restricting their on-track running during practice sessions to save fresh tires for the race, fans are often treated to practice outings where only a few cars are running at the same time (above: Spencer Pigot cools his heels while waiting for seat time). If the extra-set rule is ratified for the 10-12 drivers outside the top 10, it could come with an expectation for that set to be consumed prior to qualifying.

"The first part of the rule has merit for the rookies because they will benefit from putting more laps in the books," Frye continued. "And with the second part of the rule, it gives each race promoter more opportunities to have more drivers out and practicing.
"We just need to make sure that if it's implemented, it's done in a way, and at a point in the season, where drivers who aren't in the top 10 are outside for real reasons, and would also benefit from extra time to improve wherever they're coming up short. The last thing to say is those who are inside and outside the top 10 have been pretty consistent."
A meeting with Firestone is planned for later this month, at which IndyCar will determine whether the extra-set rule can be accommodated by its official tire partner.
"We're going to go through the tire quantities for events, and see if we did this after Indy, how it would affect their ability to support it," he said. "Firestone's been great to work with, and I'd venture to say that with the new universal body kit next year, there will be some changes to their tires to suit those changes, so there will be a lot for everyone to learn. That's another factor that's gone into this rule change we're looking at."

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IndyCar makes tire allotment tweaks

Thursday, 28 December 2017

by Marshall Pruett / Image by Michael Levitt/LAT



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Teams with drivers outside the top 10 in points will no longer be allowed to purchase an extra set of Firestone tires to use in opening practice on road and street courses. Rookies are exempt from the policy change, and will continue having access to one additional set, according to IndyCar competition president Jay Frye.


"The rookies will get an extra set of tires next season, but those outside the top 10 will not," Frye told RACER. "We got to a situation where, with 22 or 24 cars coming to most events, more than half the field would be getting an extra set of tires, and that seemed like it was a bit much."

Frye pointed to the closeness of the Drivers' championship standings, among other reasons, for the change.
"And then you look at the driver in 11th, for example, who's maybe four points behind the 10th-place driver, and they get an extra set for practice, but the guy in 10th doesn't? Is that fair?" he asked.


"It was getting hard to justify. You also had a situation where enough teams were sitting and waiting during that first practice to conserve tires for the race, so we tried to give an incentive to go out and run so there were more cars on track for the fans. We're continuing to look at ways to improve this area, but it was clear that an extra set of tires wasn't the overall fix we'd hoped it would be."
If IndyCar's 2017 tire allotment matrix is carried over, rookies would get an extra set at the aforementioned road and street courses, barring the season finale at Sonoma, and at every open test organized by the series.


On a related tire distribution note, IndyCar and Firestone have also adjusted the total number of primary tire sets available at five events.
"We've taken away an extra set for [drivers] outside the top 10, but we looked at tracks where an extra set for everyone would be helpful, and with Firestone, came up with Phoenix, Detroit, Texas, Iowa and Toronto," Frye said.


"There were some inconsistencies in the amount of primary and alternate tires teams could have; Toronto's an example where six primary sets and four alternates were available, and then the next race at Mid-Ohio, it was seven and four. So we tried to clean that up, and also looked at the wear characteristics of the tracks to see where one more set of primary tires would make a difference. So those are the five tracks where the changes were made."