| Dennis Firestone | |
| Nationality: | Australian  |
| Birth Date: | 1944 7, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Townsville, Australia) |
| First Year: | 1979 |
| Starts: | 34 |
| Wins: | 0 |
| Poles: | 0 |
| Fastest Laps: | 0 |
| Best Finish: | 12th |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Awards: | CART IndyCar Rookie of the Year |
| Award Years: | 1980 |
Dennis Firestone (born 22 July 1944 in Townsville, Australia) is a former CART driver who raced from 1979 to 1987. He was the 1980 CART Rookie of the Year in finishing 12th in season points, his best season. His best finish in a CART race was a pair of 5th places that season. He made five starts at the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 10th in 1981.[1] An accident at Indianapolis in 1987 resulted in a broken neck and ended his racing career. Since his driving days, he has run a California trucking company,[2] and participates in vintage racing events.
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 24 | 9 | Retired | |||||
| 1974 | ADF Mk. 2 | 4 | 5 | Running | ||||
| 1976 | Crosslé 30F | 1 | 3 | Running | ||||
| 8 | 9 | Running | ||||||
| 1977 | Crosslé 32F | 3 | 17 | Running | ||||
| 1979 | 21 | 12 | Retired | |||||
| 1981 | Crosslé 50F | 2 | Running | |||||
| 1982 | Crosslé 50F | 6 | Running |
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Crosslé Cars Pacific | PIR1 5 | TRE1 24 | MOS 3 | MIL1 22 | TEX 6 | MIL2 1 | OMS1 24 | OMS2 1 | TRE2 16 | PIR2 2 | 2nd | 894 | |
| 1979 | TEX1 1 | IRP 2 | MIL1 1 | POC 2 | TEX2 2 | MIL2 1 | MIN1 1 | MIN2 1 | 1st | 1480 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | AMS Oil | PHX | ATL | ATL | INDY | TRE | TRE | MCH | MCH | WGL | TRE | ONT 31 | MCH | ATL | PHX | NC | 0 | [3] | ||||
| 1980 | Scientific Drilling | ONT | INDY 16 | MIL | POC 30 | MDO | MCH 14 | WGL | MIL | ONT 6 | MCH DNS | MEX 5 | PHX 5 | 12th | 743 | [4] | ||||||
| 1981 | Rhoades Racing | PHX | MIL | ATL 18 | ATL | MCH | RIV | MIL | MCH | WGL | MEX | PHX | 44th | 1 | [5] | |||||||
| 1982 | BVC Racing | PHX 20 | ATL | MIL | CLE | MCH | MIL | POC | RIV | ROA | MCH | PHX | 44th | 1 | [6] | |||||||
| 1983 | Simpson Sports | ATL | INDY 24 | MIL | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | RIV | MDO | MCH | CPL | LAG | PHX | NC | 0 | [7] | |||||
| 1984 | Hoosier Transportation | LBH | PHX | INDY 12 | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | 39th | 1 | [8] | |||||||||||
| Pace Electronics | MCH DNQ | ROA 17 | POC 26 | MDO | SAN 16 | MCH | PHX | LAG DNQ | CPL 21 | |||||||||||||
| 1985 | Pace Racing | LBH 22 | INDY DNQ | MIL 20 | POR 18 | MEA DNQ | CLE 21 | MCH 11 | ROA 20 | POC 9 | MDO 17 | SAN 14 | MCH DNS | LAG 23 | PHX | MIA | 33rd | 6 | [9] | |||
| 1986 | Pace Racing | PHX | LBH | INDY Wth1 | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH 17 | POC 28 | MDO | SAN 14 | MCH 14 | ROA | LAG | PHX 17 | MIA | 40th | 0 | [10] | |
| 1987 | Raynor Garage Door | LBH 21 | PHX 7 | INDY DNQ | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | ROA | MDO | NAZ | LAG | MIA | 31st | 6 | [11] |
1 Wrecked after qualifying
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Penske | Cosworth | 24th | 16th | |
| 1981 | Wildcat | Cosworth | 28th | 10th | |
| 1982 | Eagle | Milodon | 21st | 27th | |
| 1983 | March | Cosworth | 33rd | 24th | |
| 1984 | March | Cosworth | 32nd | 12th | |
| 1985 | March | Cosworth | Failed to Qualify | DNQ | |
| 1986 | March | Cosworth | Withdrew* | N/A | |
| 1987 | Lola | Cosworth | Practice Crash | DNQ |