| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 9th round of the2015 IndyCar Series season | |
 | |
| Date | June 6, 2015 |
| Official name | Firestone 600 |
| Location | Texas Motor Speedway |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi / 2.4 km |
| Distance | 248 laps 372 mi / 595.2 km |
| Weather | 86 °F (30 °C), clear |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Will Power (Team Penske) |
| Time | 23.9500 + 23.9910 = 47.9410 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Will Power (Team Penske) |
| Time | 24.1743 seconds (on lap 49 of 248) |
| Podium | |
| First |  Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Second |  Tony Kanaan (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Third | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) |
The2015Firestone 600 was the ninth round of the2015 IndyCar Series season. It took take place on Saturday, June 6. The race was contested over 248 laps at the 1.5-mile (2.4 km)Texas Motor Speedway inFort Worth,Texas, and was televised byNBCSN in theUnited States.[1] It marked the 27thIndyCar race held at the speedway since it was first held there in 1997.[2]
Thesecond race in last week's rounds 7 and 8 in the IndyCar series marked the first time all season that a race finished without aPenske orGanassi driver among the top two places. The top performance by either of the super teams was a third-place showing by Penske’sSimon Pagenaud infirst race of the dual in Detroit on Saturday.[3] It also marked the best showing byHonda cars with the manufacturer taking 1-2 in the first race, and 2-3 in the second race.
Initial practice and qualifying took place in the afternoon on Friday June 5, 2015 with a final practice occurring later that evening.
| Pos | No. | Name | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Total Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Will PowerW | 23.9500 | 23.9910 | 47.9410 | |||||
| 2 | 22 |  Simon Pagenaud | 23.9458 | 24.0122 | 47.9580 | |||||
| 3 | 3 | Hélio CastronevesW | 23.9612 | 24.0786 | 48.0398 | |||||
| 4 | 26 |  Carlos Muñoz | 24.0177 | 24.0746 | 48.0923 | |||||
| 5 | 2 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 24.0416 | 24.1173 | 48.1589 | |||||
| 6 | 15 |  Graham Rahal | 24.0610 | 24.1182 | 48.1792 | |||||
| 7 | 9 | Scott DixonW | 24.0594 | 24.1259 | 48.1853 | |||||
| 8 | 10 | Tony KanaanW | 24.0665 | 24.1351 | 48.2016 | |||||
| 9 | 83 | Charlie Kimball | 24.0897 | 24.1150 | 48.2047 | |||||
| 10 | 8 | Sage KaramR | 24.1390 | 24.1552 | 48.2942 | |||||
| 11 | 27 | Marco Andretti | 24.1290 | 24.1752 | 48.3042 | |||||
| 12 | 7 |  James Jakes | 24.0723 | 24.2344 | 48.3067 | |||||
| 13 | 14 |  Takuma Sato | 24.1562 | 24.1903 | 48.3465 | |||||
| 14 | 67 | Josef Newgarden | 24.1572 | 24.2958 | 48.4530 | |||||
| 15 | 20 | Ed CarpenterW | 24.2105 | 24.2453 | 48.4558 | |||||
| 16 | 19 | Tristan Vautier | 24.2517 | 24.2643 | 48.5160 | |||||
| 17 | 41 | Jack Hawksworth | 24.2722 | 24.3131 | 48.5853 | |||||
| 18 | 11 | Sébastien Bourdais | 24.3140 | 24.3429 | 48.6569 | |||||
| 19 | 5 | Ryan BriscoeW | 24.4444 | 24.2444 | 48.6888 | |||||
| 20 | 98 | Gabby ChavesR | 24.3376 | 24.3550 | 48.6926 | |||||
| 21 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 24.3495 | 24.3703 | 48.7198 | |||||
| 22 | 18 | Pippa Mann | 24.3600 | 24.4441 | 48.8041 | |||||
| 23 | 4 |  Stefano ColettiR | 24.6630 | 24.7685 | 49.4315 | |||||
| Qualifications | ||||||||||
The race took place on the evening of Saturday June 6, 2015 and was the fastest IndyCar Series race ever run at theTexas Motor Speedway with an average speed of 191.940 mph.[4] It was a relative clean contest with only one caution occurring between laps 84 to 96, which was due to non-contact debris on the front stretch of the track, during the entire 248 lap race. Pole driverWill Power had the lead for the first 7 laps of the race, whenSimon Pagenaud took the lead from him and held it for the next 59 laps of the race. Multiple pit stops by others further back in the field to make wing and tire adjustments shuffled the order and put several drivers one to three laps down. Finding the right balance of downforce and tire wear and press would prove pivotal in the race.[5] In lap 67,Tony Kanaan took the lead. During the caution beginning in lap 84, pretty much the entire field pitted, and pit times resulted in a major reshuffling of order once again withJuan Pablo Montoya holding the lead when the race resumed on lap 96, with Kanaan retaking the lead on lap 103.
As cars pitted for fuel beginning in lap 138, the lead was again reshuffled, with the lead passing toScott Dixon,Hélio Castroneves,James Jakes and then back to Dixon. Another round of pitting for fuel again reshuffled the lead over a ten lap period, with Kanaan, then Castroneves and thenMarco Andretti taking the lead. Dixon re-took the lead on lap 194 and would maintain lead for the rest of the race with the except of his taking his final pit stop for fuel on lap 228 end up having the lead for a total of 97 laps, eclipsing his season total of 59 in laps led in one race.[5] He would go on to win the race, which hisChip Ganassi Racing teammate Kanaan taking second, and Castroneves taking the third podium position forTeam Penske. The top 4 finishers were allChevrolet cars which dominated the race and the top finishers suggest high downforce will be the way to success onoval courses for the remainder of the season.[6]
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 348 |
| 2 | Will Power | 313 |
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 305 |
| 4 | Hélio Castroneves | 286 |
| 5 | Graham Rahal | 261 |
| Previous race: 2015 Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix | Verizon IndyCar Series 2015 season | Next race: 2015 Honda Indy Toronto |
| Previous race: 2014 Firestone 600 | Firestone 600 | Next race: 2016 Firestone 600 |