Firestone’s New Green Race Tires Hit the Track

Firestone Racing is launching a new line of race tires that mix high performance with green technology for the 2026 IndyCar season. The new Firehawk tires will first appear at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, and they will power both the top‑tier NTT IndyCar Series and the developmental INDY NXT series. The company plans to produce about 37, 000 of these tires, with more than 32, 000 destined for the main series and 5, 000 for the junior competition. They will come in 60 different sizes to fit oval tracks, road courses and street races across the season’s 18 events. Key sustainable ingredients include soybean‑oil based compounds, recycled steel beads and reclaimed carbon black from old tires.These materials cut reliance on fossil fuels, lower waste, and still meet the high demands of open‑wheel racing. Firestone has a history of using race testing as a laboratory for new ideas. In recent years it added natural rubber from guayule, recycled plastic and palm‑oil waste to its tire sidewalls. The 2026 model will feature bio‑derived butadiene and styrene from palm‑oil residues, plus recycled steel for the bead wire. All tires are built at Bridgestone’s Advanced Tire Production Center in Akron, Ohio, where on‑track data feeds back into product design for the wider Firestone and Bridgestone ranges. Nearly all tires used in IndyCar are later recycled into playgrounds, sports surfaces and other rubber products.