Pink Panther (Update)
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| Oriol Servia's Pink Panther |
Panther Racing returned this weekend to its "pink camo" livery to honor female soldiers serving in the National Guard. Firestone has joined the team in honoring females serving in the military and has created a pink sidewall tire that will replace the traditional black primary Firehawk tires.
"I've never driven a pink race car before and I can't wait," said Oriol Servia, driver of the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car. "As a kid I always liked the Pink Panther, so hopefully we can be sneaky like the Pink Panther this weekend."
The Ohio National Guard is led by Maj. Gen Deborah Ashenhurst, the only female adjutant general, who will join the team this weekend to help celebrate the key role females play in the military.
"We've been very fortunate to see up close how integral females are in the National Guard and we're excited to recognize their effort with the pink camo No. 4 car this weekend," Panther owner John Barnes said. "Our friend Gen. Ashenhurst is one of the best military leaders in the country and a perfect representation of the role females play in the military. I also want to thank everybody at Firestone for helping us out with this effort and creating a pink sidewall tire for the weekend."
The team debuted a pink camo car in 2011 at Kentucky Speedway and brought the popular livery back at Mid-Ohio last year after Ashenhurst was named adjutant general. The car's design has remained similar until Firestone jumped in to add the pink tires to the mix.
Firestone is supplying the same tire specifications this weekend for IZOD IndyCar Series teams as those used in mid-April at Barber Motorsports Park.
08/01/13 Race Distance: 203.22 miles/327.06 kilometers (90 laps on the 2.258-mile/3.634-km permanent road course).
Race Broadcast: Live – 3 p.m. ET Sunday, August 4 on NBC Sports Network, IMS Radio Network, Sirius/XM Radio 211 and indycar.com. Tape-delayed qualifying broadcast airs at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, August 3 on NBC Sports Network.
Firestone Firehawk Race Tires Supplied:
The dry-condition (slick) tire specifications for Mid-Ohio feature the same tire construction as used at Barber Motorsports Park in April, paired with a slightly more durable compound for both the primary and alternate specs.
Primary (black-sidewall) dry-condition slicks: 976, each entry receives three sets (12 total tires) for the Wednesday open test and five sets* (20 total tires) for the official race weekend (*-each entry must complete at least five laps during the first race-weekend practice session to earn the fifth set of primary tires from its weekend allotment).
Alternate (red-sidewall) dry-condition slicks: 330, each entry receives three sets (12 total tires) for the race weekend only; none will be supplied during the open test.
Wet-condition (rain) tires with grooved tread pattern: 618, each entry has two sets (eight total tires) for the open test and five sets (20 total tires) for the race weekend of the rain tire that was also available earlier this season at Brazil.
IndyCar Series rules mandate each car use two different tire specifications in road- or street-course races – the primary and alternate specs. The Firestone alternates, easily identified by their bright red sidewalls, pair the same tire construction as the primary specification with a softer tread compound to provide more grip and faster lap times, while trading off compound durability for the shorter-term advantages. All cars must use at least one set of primary tires and one new (“sticker") alternate set during the race, each for a minimum of two laps, with at least one lap under green-flag conditions. Otherwise, teams are free to use their tire allotment at their discretion.
Firestone Racing Helps Honor Female National Guard Members: Panther Racing, through its sponsorship with the National Guard, is paying tribute this weekend to the female soldiers with a pink livery racecar. Firestone Racing is helping to honor these courageous women by creating pink-sidewall Firehawk primary spec tires for the car to use on race weekend. The pink-sidewall tires are identical to the traditional black-sidewall primary tires that all the other cars will use, with the exception of the sidewall application. All cars in the field this weekend, including the #4 Panther Racing entry driven by Oriol Servia, will utilize the customary red-sidewall alternate tires during the race weekend.