Before the manufacturer wars were a thing in NASCAR, during the late 80s another war was brewing in the NASCAR world with tire manufacturers going at it with all their might, trying to establish supremacy. The battle was between NASCAR’s long-time tire supplier and existing partner Goodyear which had the upper hand due to its streamlined manufacturing and production line. On the other side was a relatively smaller but determined brand called Hoosier. As the name itself suggests, it was a company based out in Lakeville, Indiana founded by veteran stock car racer, Robert Newton and Joyce Newton

It was during the 1988 Daytona 500 when the whole back and forth started with Hoosier, which was dwarfed by Goodyear in terms of capabilities, took it to the larger manufacturer by ending their streak of 247 consecutive poles. With Hoosier waking up the sleeping giant, what followed was an epic manufacturer war that gave the community a lot including controversy, heated battles, and a lot more.

Blast to the past – The Goodyear-Hoosier shoot-out

In auto racing, tires obviously play a significant role. The recent criticisms against Goodyear are itself a major aspect that highlights their importance. For a team to have the perfect combination of calculated pit stops and a great run through whatnot – tight technical corners, high-flowing corners, or even the flat ones, it all comes down to the quality of rubber and how it performs under extreme conditions of the high-speed battle ensuing on the track.

Long before Goodyear emerged as the titan, taking over NASCAR with its product, its reign as the ultimate tire partner was shaken up by a comparatively smaller brand Hoosier when Morgan Shepherd won the pole at Daytona in 1988 breaking Goodyear’s streak. From then on, things went south for Goodyear as Neil Bonnett clinched a win the following week only to end Goodyear’s 526 consecutive race win streak.s

“We were on Hoosiers, and they were the quickest tire,” Bonnett said. “I might have overextended on them, but it worked out. So far this season, I have no complaints about the tires,” said the veteran back then according to Fronstretch. Drivers and teams were awed by Hoosier’s durability as the cars required less number of tires yet gave more momentum while the race waged on to its last laps.

In fact, during the Daytona 500 that year, Bonnett’s performance was a testament to the manufacturer’s durability as he finished the 500-mile race with just nine tires. The back and forth waged on till the 1994 Winston Cup season when the tire manufacture feud reached a bloody conclusion with the death of two prominent drivers, Neil Bonnett, and Rodney Orr.

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While the sanctioning body was reluctant to push the blame on the manufacturer, the common link between the two deaths was in fact the Hoosier tires. Later that year, Hoosier announced its withdrawal from the big league as financial obligations and the large number of tires burdened the small manufacturer, giving the edge to Goodyear, reigning long as the promotion’s tire partner as a monopoly.

Hoosier loses the battle despite Bodine’s stellar streak

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Geoff Bodine was a driver who benefitted largely from the manufacturer war. Just during Hoosier’s final season in 1994, Bodine was able to rack up 12 pole positions along with multiple wins but the overwhelming financial obligation of having to supply as much as 1,200 tires burdened the Indiana-based manufacturer to return to its roots in short-track racing.

The then Hoosier team President Robert Newton said, “Our effort in NASCAR Winston Cup and NASCAR Busch Series racing has been rewarding for us, but we remain a family-owned company that relies totally on income from the sale of racing tires to remain profitable. At this time, we believe it is in our best interest to concentrate our efforts in short-track racing, which remains our bread and butter.”

Besides Bodine, regular Hoosier drivers included Jeff Burton who was later named the 1994 Rookie of the Year, Ward Burton, Greg Sacks, and Loy Allen Jr. Darrell Waltrip used them for the first seven races, and other drivers, including Harry Gant, Rick Mast and Joe Nemechek, used them on and off accordingly.

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