has been the official tire supplier of
NASCAR since 1954.
Early history When NASCAR was founded in 1948, it sourced tires solely from
Firestone. In
1954,
Goodyear entered the sport. For the next two decades, both tire manufacturers would claim race victories and speed records until Firestone left NASCAR in
1974. In the late 1960s, the deaths of
Jimmy Pardue and
Billy Wade spurred both Goodyear and Firestone to manufacture the "Inner Liner Safety Spare," also known to NASCAR as "Lifeguard": a second internal envelope to slow a failed tire's deflation and allow drivers to return to the
pit. Conversely, controversy erupted at
Talladega Superspeedway's
1969 debut race, when drivers experienced tire failures during practice, Firestone withdrew from the race, and
Richard Petty led a driver walkout over safety concerns. In
1978, the McCreary Tire & Rubber Company entered NASCAR. Although
J. D. McDuffie won the pole at
Dover with McCreary tires, the company never won a race and quickly exited the sport. This left Goodyear as the sole NASCAR tire supplier until
Hoosier entered the
Busch Grand National Series in 1987. and invited Hoosier as a backup plan. Hoosier gained an early advantage in the season's second race, at
Richmond, where
Morgan Shepherd took the pole and
Neil Bonnett won the race using Hoosiers. Two weeks later, Bonnett won again at
Rockingham. Despite this setback, Hoosier continued to win;
Bill Elliott drove the tires to victory lane at the
1988 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. This setback gave Hoosier a major head start, with Waltrip driving on Hoosiers to claim his sole Daytona 500 win. Hoosier dominated the first four races of the season, up to
Rusty Wallace's win at the
1989 Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond. But that would prove the manufacturer's final win of the season: Goodyear's radial tires made their debut at the
1989 First Union 400 at
North Wilkesboro Speedway. While Wallace won the pole on Hoosiers, the lead cars had lapped him by lap 70, and Goodyear's tires' durability proved key to Earnhardt's eventual victory. That loss proved a death blow for Hoosier, who could not sell enough tires to remain
viable and left NASCAR after the
1989 Winston 500 at Talladega. Hoosier claimed 12 poles in the 1994 season, including
Rick Mast at the inaugural
Brickyard 400.
Geoff Bodine won four races with Hoosier, including the
Winston Select. But like the 1988 season, both tire manufacturers saw catastrophic failures on their products.
Ernie Irvan suffered near-fatal head, chest, and lung injuries in a practice crash at
Michigan after one of his Goodyears blew and sent him colliding with the turn two wall. Bodine and
Loy Allen Jr. experienced horrifying crashes at the season-ending
Atlanta race due to failing Hoosiers.
Mark Martin, who won the Atlanta race, blasted the tire war, saying: Pirelli supplies the tires for NASCAR Brasil Sprint Race, which became an officially sanctioned NASCAR international series starting from the 2023 season. ==In Formula One ==