Firestone Unveils New Right-Front Tire for Phoenix and Gateway

The tire manufacturer will debut a wider, grippier right-front tire at two key ovals this season.

Published on Feb. 22, 2026

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Firestone has developed a new right-front tire that will debut at the upcoming IndyCar race at Phoenix Raceway and then be carried over to the event at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway) later in the season. The tire features a wider construction and unique characteristics to provide more cornering grip. Firestone also plans to use a similar tire variation, with a denser rubber compound, for the Nashville Superspeedway race in July.

Why it matters

Tire performance and development are critical factors in open-wheel racing, as they can significantly impact a car's handling and speed. Firestone's new right-front tire is aimed at improving grip and performance at the high-speed Phoenix and Gateway ovals, which could shake up the competitive order and lead to more exciting racing.

The details

The new right-front tire is wider than Firestone's current offering and has been designed with unique construction characteristics to increase lateral grip. Firestone has conducted extensive testing to validate the tire's performance, and the company believes it will provide similar or slightly higher levels of load and speed compared to the existing tire. The first race with the new tire will be the IndyCar doubleheader at Phoenix in early March, and it will then be carried over to the event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June.

  • The new right-front tire will debut at the IndyCar doubleheader at Phoenix Raceway on March 6-8, 2026.
  • The same tire will then be used at the IndyCar race at World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway) on June 7, 2026.
  • Firestone plans to test a similar tire variation, with a denser rubber compound, for the Nashville Superspeedway race on July 19, 2026.

The players

Cara Krstolic

Executive Director of race tire engineering and production for Firestone.

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What they’re saying

“Definitely we'll see it carry over into Gateway. They have similar types of demands out of the circuit. At both here [Phoenix] and Gateway have more of a load that goes into the right front tire, which means some of the speeds and loads are the same or a little bit more similar here. So very likely we'll see this tire go forward into Gateway.”

— Cara Krstolic, Executive Director of race tire engineering and production (Motorsport.com)

“The other area we're going to see something similar to it, but obviously with a harder compound is Nashville. So we'll take this design philosophy and do a Nashville test that we're going to be doing on April 7th, so we'll build upon our learnings coming up to this point and put those in for Nashville.”

— Cara Krstolic, Executive Director of race tire engineering and production (Motorsport.com)

What’s next

Firestone plans to conduct a test of the new right-front tire variation for the Nashville Superspeedway race on April 7, 2026.

The takeaway

Firestone's development of a new, wider and grippier right-front tire for key oval races this season demonstrates the company's commitment to providing IndyCar teams with high-performance tires that can enhance the racing experience for fans. This innovation could lead to more competitive and exciting racing at Phoenix and Gateway.