When Helio Castroneves said hello to the prestigious BorgWarner Indianapolis 500 Trophy, the entire 33-car pack had been paced by a 2010 Camaro bearing Pirelli’s P Zero 20-inch original equipment tires.
Castroneves’ No. 3 Team Penske Honda/Firestone car was running with newly specified Firehawk racing rubber, making him the 60th driver to take Indy’s checkered flag on Firestone tires.
The fabled track celebrates its 100th birthday Aug. 19; the Indy 500 has been staged annually for 93 years.
“It was really fast out front,” says Castroneves. “I had only one tire issue, and that was a cut tire because Tony (Kanaan) had a horrible accident right in front of me. Other than that, they were just awesome. The tires held fantastic. Thank you so much to Firestone for giving me an opportunity to win my third Indy 500.”
Castroneves is just the ninth driver in history to cruise down Victory Lane at the legendary Brickyard three times, and the Brazilian is the first foreign-born driver to accomplish that feat.
“The tire wear rate was even better than we had anticipated,” says Al Speyer, executive director of Firestone Racing, citing surface temperatures that soared to 107 degrees on an 87-degree day. “With the warmest temperatures we’ve experienced this month, the tires held up over extended stints,” he adds.
“In fact,” Speyer continues, “Helio’s teammate Will Power ran 49 laps on a single set of tires, which is proof positive that tires are not an issue if you have the right setup. This is a great moment for Firestone, as Helio’s win is the first of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Centennial Era: Firestone is celebrating 100 years of racing along with the Brickyard.”
Construction on the track began in March of 1909. The first auto racing program was a three-day event the following August. Louis Schwitzer, an innovative engineer and founder of an early turbocharger business later acquired by BorgWarner, won the debut auto race at the site – a two-lap, standing-start dash.
As the track was being built, Frank Wheeler (one of four original founders of the Speedway) and George Schebler commissioned a trophy from Tiffany & Co. on behalf of the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Co., which later merged with several other companies to become part of Borg-Warner Corp. The sterling silver urn originally cost $8,000 and stood eight feet tall. At that time, it was the most expensive trophy for any athletic event in the world.
The trophy was subsequently retired in 1932 when car owner Harry Hartz won it three times. When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame was established in 1956, Hartz donated the historic trophy to the museum.
In 1936, the BorgWarner Indianapolis 500 Trophy made its inaugural appearance at the Speedway when it was presented to winner Louis Meyer. Featuring the sterling silver visage of every Indianapolis 500 winner, two new bases have been added to the original trophy to make room for future winners through 2034. Made of more than 100 pounds of sterling silver and standing five feet, six inches tall, the trophy originally cost $10,000 and is currently valued at $1.5 million.
Because the trophy stays on permanent display at the Indy Hall of Fame, the BorgWarnerChampionship Driver’s Trophy – also known as the “Baby Borg” – was established in 1988, with the BorgWarner Team Owner’s Trophy being introduced in 1998, to give the winning drivers and team owners a personal keepsake of their victory. Both are sterling silver replicas of the Indianapolis 500 Trophy.
For more information, visit www.us.pirelli.com, www.firestone.com, www.indy500.com and www.borgwarner.com.
