Thoughts from drivers on the idea of a spec tire manufacturer, one that was willing to make it financially beneficial for drivers and the series. There would not be a spec tire, just the manufacturer. Any manufacturer other than Hoosier could result in less tire sizes being available for existing wheels in use in the series.

Currently running with PCA deprives the series of any income stream to promote the series through marketing opportunities such as videos and video broadcasts on the internet and TV, and other commercial ads, and the drivers with no tire contingencies or the possibility of other financial incentives for racing in the series.

Finding a tire manufacturer to add revenue and/or tire contingencies is a possibility with selecting one manufacturer as the tire provider for the series and its classes. Manufacturers currently being considered are Hoosier, BFG, Toyo, and Michelin.

BFG has a more generous contingency program similar to the previous Hoosier offering. Tires hold up well just not sure about size limitations. Oh and they are less expensive!

Couple of questions:
-Would this be for sp1/2/3 or just sp2?
-Hankook makes a good "r" compound and is less expensive than both BFG and Hoosier. should they be considered?
-Does Michelin even make an "r" compound as at least tire rack only has pilot cups which are street/track.
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A spec tire manufacturer as discussed here would be for sp2 and 3. We would consider any tire manufacturer. If anyone has an "IN" with Hankook or other tire companies, set me up and I will be glad to pursue. Michelin does not have a R compound. Let me add that we have also contacted Goodyear with whom we also have prior relations. Also tried a cold contact with Toyo but with no reply.

I used to race in Cup with Hankook tires and liked them a lot. As fast as the Hoosiers, lasted longer, and cheaper too. And for a while they had a great contingency program. The downside and the reason I'm racing on Hoosiers was supply. They just didn't really seem committed to their racing program and they would only bring a limited supply of tires in during the spring and that was it until next January. So if you didn't buy all your tires for the year back in March/April you were out of luck. Granted that was 5 years ago, but I don't know if they have their act together.

Another thing to consider when choosing a tire supplier to the series, are they going to be there for the long haul. While an individual tire may be cheaper, changing to a different tire does incur costs to the racer not accounted for in the purchase price. Often the tire characteristics are different, they like different pressure or alignment settings to find the sweet spot. Goodyear for example, made a great tire for our cars, but it was different than the Hoosiers and folks spent time/money to understand them. They also didn't supply a lot of the sizes that racers ran, and then they moved on. So if you had committed to the Goodyears, you were left holding the bucket. If you can afford to test and make setup changes you'll might pick up a competitive advantage, but not everybody has the time or money to do so.

I know it's a tough chicken and egg situation no matter what. It's tough to get tire mfgrs to make tires for us racers, and it's tough to get us racers to try something new. I don't have a solution, but wishing you luck Dave.

I would like to see a tire supplier step up and support the series but part of the problem is that some company's don't have all the sizes that we run. I know that was why I never tried the good years. I wasn't willing to down size.

This is a good point, one that I mentioned above. For me, it's the most significant issue when considering a spec tire manufacturer other than Hoosier.

So, then the qestion becomes, if not via a spec tire manufacturer, how does the series generate revenue to pay for bills?

Also more good points to be considered, especially supply. My preference is and has been since the series started has been to allow any DOT manufactured tire. From a business standpoint, a tremendous value the series can leverage is the amount of tires purchased by the drivers. Tires bought generates alot of money for the tire manufacturers. Can the series share in those revenues to help pay for bills of the series and be used to further promote the series? Or, does it cause too much disruption in the series? What other viable options exist to generate funds for the series?

Since this post, Hankook Tire has in fact expressed an interest in the series. They are not sure if they can supply the demand based on sizes. I will start a dialogue with them next week to explore the possibilities.

I have been thinking about this for a long time and to be a "true spec class" ...In my opinion…. I would also like to see everyone using the same "size" tire…...