Even as other tire companies have been contacted, the owners of IndyCar race teams voted March 7 to beg Bridgestone Americas to reconsider dropping its support of the race series.

According to reports, the vote was “near-unanimous” to “stick with Firestone – regardless of the price.”

Bridgestone announced late on March 4 that its Firestone brand was withdrawing from IndyCar racing after the 2011 season, ending a 16-year run since the brand returned, the last 10 of which it spent as the sole tire supporter.

While Bridgestone officials did not offer specifics on its decision to split from IndyCar, the owners position hints that there were financial considerations.

“We all want to keep running with Firestone,” said Conquest Racing owner Eric Bachelart, a one-time Firestone Indy Lights driving champion. “We know those people; we trust their product and we have to save the deal. They are the best partner ever and we can’t afford to lose them so we’re hoping they’ll review their decision.”

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard reportedly called the owner meeting to get their feedback. “The owners are concerned there isn’t enough time to find a new company to develop a tire so they want to go back and get Firestone,” Bernard told Speed TV.

Speed TV reported that the per car tire deal for 2011 was “expected to be in the neighborhood of $300,000 but it’s believed Firestone might charge as much as $550,000 to stick around for 2012.”

The 2011 IndyCar Series starts on March 27 with a race in Homestead, Fla. A full IndyCar the season requires about 23,000 tires.

Al Speyer, executive director of motorsports for Bridgestone Americas, said he was flattered by the owners vote, but told a motorsport publication: “I guess now with the team owners getting more actively involved, I would never say never, but things like this aren’t easy to change. The decision was partly about us taking a different direction.”

“It wasn’t all about the money for us,” he told the media.

At the same time, he told the Indianapolis Star: “Our deadline was Dec. 31 and like the NFL we agreed to extend negotiations several times. But in trying to help each other, in some ways we’ve hurt them. The clock is ticking on the 2012 season and the new car, and if they’re going to have a new tire supplier they need to move really quickly. Ongoing delay hurts them much more than it hurts us.”