Weather, Firestone, Schedule and Kanaan
source: irl.racing-live.com - ORS / CAPSIS International In stark contrast to last weekend's sweltering Milwaukee event, the Irish Hills of Michigan have greeted the IndyCar competitors with a nearly perfect summer day. Clear blue skies and temperatures in the low to mid 80's have produced a much more active garage area as fans mingle and look at the race cars instead of searching for shade. Crew members and team owners are also much easier to find as they are not hiding in transporters or motor homes as they did last weekend to beat the oppressive heat. The track itself is not nearly as heat sensitive as Milwaukee, and as a high banked oval, horsepower has taken over for handling as the key factor in the race. That said getting the car to handle when following another is expected to be highly important. This weekend Firestone tires is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Scott Pruett's CART victory here at the Michigan International Speedway. Pruett's win was the first for Firestone since they returned to major open wheel racing following their 1974 withdrawal from the sport. Firestone reiterated their commitment to the IndyCar Series as both a major sponsor and the exclusive tire supplier through at least the 2007 season. "They don't give up, they make better tires all the time," said Tony Kanaan who also noted that Firestone does this hard work even though they are in a competition free environment. In 2004, Kanaan ran every lap of every race en route the series championship. Over the past 10 years, Firestone tires have turned over two million miles in IndyCar races and testing.
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