Firestone Firehawk 600
The Firestone Firehawk 600 was a planned American open-wheel car race scheduled for April 29, 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The event was sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams and was the third round of the 2001 CART season. It was scheduled for 248 laps around the oval track. However, the race was postponed and ultimately canceled due to concerns about driver safety, as the high g-forces the cars produced through the circuit's long corners led to drivers experiencing vertigo, vision issues and disorientation during practice and qualifying. Medical experts also voiced concerns of drivers suffering g-force induced loss of consciousness from the sustained g-forces that would be experienced during a race. It was the only race in CART history that was canceled outright for safety reasons. Kenny Bräck was awarded one point for qualifying on pole position at an average speed of.
Background
The Firestone Firehawk 600 was to be the second attempt to run an open-wheel race on a high-banked oval. Texas Motor Speedway, which opened in 1997, is classified as an intermediate oval with a length of. The turns are banked at 24°. By comparison, the turns at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are only banked at 9°, and those at Michigan International Speedway are 18°.Texas Motor Speedway was originally designed with a dual-banking layout. The steep 24° banking on top would accommodate NASCAR races. A secondary 8° banking below was designed for the faster open-wheel machines. While the track was under construction, CART had expressed interest in holding a race at the facility, but upon closer examination of the unusual dual-banking system decided it was not feasible. The secondary banking design was ultimately deemed a failure, and in 1998, the turns were reconfigured. The dual banking was removed in favor of a larger apron, and after unrelated difficulties during the NASCAR events, the turn transitions were corrected.
The rival Indy Racing League had run what is now the DXC Technology 600 at Texas since 1997, along with a fall race from 1998 to 2004. IRL cars were slower than their CART counterparts and this, combined with a higher downforce chassis, allowed them to handle the steep banking.
After the success of the IRL events, CART expressed renewed interest in holding an event at the track. Over the summer of 2000, negotiations were ongoing, with a tentative date of May 6, 2001 set for the inaugural event. When the 2001 CART schedule was released, the race was scheduled for April 29, 2001, and was set to air live on ABC. However, it was eventually switched to sister network ESPN.
Initial concerns
The expectations for dangerously high speeds were an early concern, and even led to rumors of cancellation or moving the race to the infield road course. Unlike their IRL counterparts, CART cars had much more horsepower from their turbocharged engines, and less downforce and drag. They were thus expected to traverse the circuit much faster. TMS would have been the highest-banked track for a CART race since Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1983. The high banking and sharp turns were expected to impose unprecedented g loads on the drivers and cars. A test was scheduled for December 18, 2000 in order to address concerns.TMS president Eddie Gossage wrote to CART management urging them to mandate certain suspension components, among others, to improve safety for the event. CART driver Maurício Gugelmin expressed that the drivers would face a challenge, but was confident that CART would find the solutions needed to conduct the race. Gugelmin also noted that "stronger parts will be necessary because of the loading generated by the banking."
Testing
The first CART test session began on December 19, 2000. Kenny Bräck, a former IRL driver who had previously raced at Texas while with that series, was the first driver to take to the track. The target speeds were set at 225 mph. Bräck completed over 100 laps, with a top lap over 221 mph. CART chief steward J. Kirk Russell, track officials, Bräck, and Team Rahal expressed satisfaction with the test and the data collected. CART set its rules package for the race as utilizing 37 inHG manifold pressure and installing the Hanford device on all rear wings. However, Gossage told NBC Sports in 2016 that Bräck was not going full throttle during the test.While CART did not arrange a full-field open test, several private tests followed. The second series of private tests, scheduled for three days, began February 21, 2001. The entire week was hindered by rain and cool temperatures. Patrick Racing and driver Jimmy Vasser were the first teams to take to the track. On the first day, rain kept the track closed until 11:30 a.m. A busy afternoon saw Vasser drive over 100 laps, with a top lap over. Vasser reported it was "fairly easy to drive flat out" and said the track was somewhat bumpy. The team claimed to have accomplished all of their goals in the abbreviated half-day session, and canceled the remaining two days they had scheduled for the test.
Team KOOL Green tested at the track on February 22 with driver Dario Franchitti. He completed 190 laps with a top lap speed of. Top trap speeds may have been as high as.
Like Patrick Racing the day before, Team Green canceled their second scheduled day of testing when they felt they had accomplished their testing goals after only one session. Franchitti expressed reservations about the track's roughness and reported pulling 3 Gs in the corners. He also predicted that two-wide racing would be possible during the race.
PacWest Racing also tested at the track on February 22 with rookie driver Scott Dixon and Maurício Gugelmin. In 55 degree weather, Dixon drove about 140 laps, with a top speed close to 225 mph. Gugelmin also reported the ability to drive flat out around the track.
However, Gugelmin told Gossage and CART officials in a March 19 teleconference that he didn't believe CART could run a race at TMS. He claimed that the "wing configuration was wrong," and the cars were "too fast" for the track.
Also at the track on February 22 was Penske Racing with driver Hélio Castroneves and Walker Racing with driver Tora Takagi. Castroneves had a fast lap at about 226 mph.
All scheduled testing for February 23 was canceled due to rain. During the week, no incidents were reported. Tora Takagi, however, suffered gearbox trouble, and completed only 20 laps of testing.
Comparisons with IRL
The existing track qualifying record at Texas Motor Speedway for the Indy Racing League events was set June 5, 1998, by Tony Stewart. The fastest race lap, aided by a tow was set by Billy Boat the following day. The following year, the cars were slowed down by rule changes, and speed remained in the 215–216 mph range.Scott Dixon's unaided lap during testing already unofficially broke the IRL's qualifying record.
Changes
Following the tests, very few changes were made to the cars leading up to the race. The teams that participated reported satisfaction with the information gathered during the tests. The primary concerns expressed dwelled on the roughness of the circuit.The track itself, however, underwent a few upgrades. Changes included a concrete wall on pit lane between the pit stalls and the grassy "quad oval" area along the frontstretch. The track's surface was also smoothed in some areas, in response to the complaints.
Race weekend
Friday morning practice
Going into race week, many drivers expressed apprehension about the upcoming race. The first practice session was held the morning of Friday April 27, 2001. CART officials re-measured the track for scoring purposes, and utilized a length of 1.482 miles. At the time, NASCAR and IRL utilized a track measurement of. The first practice session saw no incidents. Tony Kanaan turned the fastest lap at 22.845 seconds, a full second quicker than the fastest time reported during the test sessions.Friday afternoon practice
The first crash of the weekend occurred during the Friday afternoon session, when Maurício Gugelmin crashed in turn 3. His car got loose exiting turn 2 and hit the inside wall at 66.2 g. His foot became lodged between the pedals, and the car accelerated. The car slid down the backstretch and hit the outside wall in turn 3 with a force of 113.1 g. The car continued to slide until it reached the apex between turn 3 and turn 4. Gugelmin claims to have blacked out during the crash, but he was not seriously injured. Gugelmin was wearing the HANS device. He withdrew, nursing bruised shoulders and ribs, and sat out the rest of the weekend.Meanwhile, Kenny Bräck upped the fastest lap of the day to 22.821 seconds. Dario Franchitti logged the fastest single trap speed at the start/finish line, at 238.936 mph.
During the day, some drivers remarked on the improvements made to the surface, that various bumps had been smoothed out. Most called the track very fast, and two-wide racing and drafting was observed. Bryan Herta likened the track to a bowl, calling it "fast and fun." Paul Tracy also called it "a fast track." Bruno Junqueira said it was the fastest track he had ever driven. An awestruck Nicolas Minassian compared it to riding a roller coaster. Hélio Castroneves called the track "physical," due to the banking, and Cristiano da Matta echoed the sentiment.
The first serious concerns about driver safety occurred on Friday afternoon. CART medical affairs director Steve Olvey would later report that two drivers felt dizzy and disoriented after running their cars at over, and that they felt they could not control their cars. The identities of the two drivers were not disclosed, but Tony Kanaan and Alex Zanardi later claimed they experienced the symptoms. Olvey later recalled that Max Papis was unable to tell the frontstretch from the backstretch when his crew told him to pit. Adrian Fernandez also reported to the media he was experiencing dizziness. Olvey said in his 25 years of working in motorsports, it was a problem he had never experienced.
Later, chief steward Chris Kneifel recalled that he had also heard reports about drivers feeling dizzy, with some saying they had lost their equilibrium after getting out of their cars. CART competition and PR chief Mike Zizzo said that the cars were going so fast that one could get dizzy just watching them roar around the track.