AKRON—Bridgestone Americas has reorganized the race tire development arm of its Firestone Racing program, making personnel moves designed to reaffirm its commitment to innovation and the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Bridgestone has promoted Cara Adams, senior project engineer, race tire development, to chief engineer, Bridgestone Americas Motorsports and manager, race tire development. She will succeed Dale Harrigle who is moving to a position in Bridgestone's consumer tire business after the 2016 IndyCar season ends.
“I'm honored to lead our engineering team in the future development of tires for Indy car racing and into the next chapter of Firestone Racing's storied history,” Adams said, adding she is proud to follow in Harrigle's footsteps. “Perhaps one of Dale's biggest contributions to our sport is the expert team of engineers and chemists developed during his tenure.”
Adams also manages the race team's force and momentum testing program, working with teams and manufacturers to develop tire models used in race simulations.
Harrigle said he expects the expertise developed in two decades with the race tire business will help him lead a team in the consumer tire trade group.
“I've had the privilege of working with many talented, dedicated and inspiring people in the world of motorsport,” Harrigle said, “and I am honored to have been chosen to lead the great team at Firestone Race Tire Development for the past four years.”
Bridgestone also promoted Dan Peterman to manager of race tire development/production and building services, a new position overseeing all aspects of race tire development and manufacturing. He previously served as plant engineer at Bridgestone's passenger tire plant in Aiken, S.C.
Peterman will relocate to Akron, where the race tire program is based. He brings more than 25 years of manufacturing experience at a number of Bridgestone tire manufacturing facilities to his new job.
Adams has been with Bridgestone since 2003, joining the company as an engineer in the tire/vehicle dynamics department. She joined the race tire development team in 2007, working initially on tires for road and street courses. Currently, she oversees the brand's superspeedway tire development, including those used in the Indianapolis 500.
Harrigle has been with the Firestone race tire program since 1994 when Bridgestone returned the brand to open-wheel racing after a decades-long hiatus. In his new position, he will lead a team responsible for developing light truck, SUV and winter tires for the consumer tire replacement market, Bridgestone said.