Firestone expands use of guayule tires to all IndyCar street circuits

Firestone’s green-banded race tires featuring sidewalls made from sustainable guayule rubber made their NTT IndyCar Series debut at the Nashville Grand Prix last year, and after being hailed as a success, Firestone has expanded their use to all five of IndyCar’s street circuits.

The official tire partner of IndyCar says it “will feature Firestone Firehawk race tires made with rubber derived from the guayule desert shrub as the alternate tire in all five street circuits of the 17-race season, a four-race bump from the season prior. Additionally, the majority of race tires used this season will be manufactured at the energy-efficient Advanced Test Production Center (ATPC), which has now received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS recognition for its transparency and traceability of sustainable raw materials. Finally, the company will utilize ISCC mass balance certified synthetic rubber made with recycled plastics in all its race tires for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500.”

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Firestone’s parent company Bridgestone says the five-fold increase in competition use of guayule and the drive towards using recycled plastics in its Indy 500 tires is a perfect fit for the firm.

“We are driving sustainability in every area of our business, and we’re thrilled to be advancing guayule and other sustainable practices in America’s premier open-wheel racing series,” said Bridgestone Americas CEO Paolo Ferrari. “Firestone has a tremendous legacy of innovation and performance in racing, which we will continue to build upon as we move into this new era of cleaner, safer and more sustainable mobility on and off the track.”