Weedsport, NY — March 21, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
Hoosier Tire has expanded the options for DIRTcar Racing NorthEast Modified divisions with the introduction of the new Hoosier D200.
“We addressed the teams’ concerns that it was taking too much time before the races to prep tires, sometimes up to eight hours a week,” said Shanon Rush, Modified & Late Model Dirt Product Manager for Hoosier Tire “We heard from teams that there was actually more tire wear coming from grinding and siping than from racing on the track. With the new D200s, you just put them on and go. It’s a more aggressive compound showing great performance as soon as they hit the track.”
The new Hoosier Tire will be made available for use beginning the weekend of Friday, May 30-Sunday, June 1 for both Big-Block Modifieds and 358-Modifieds. A new numbering system will also be in effect as 2008 tires roll off the production line and these numbers may be used interchangeably throughout the remainder of the 2008 season.
“We had about eight test sessions in Florida, running anywhere from a half-dozen to 20 laps,” added Rush, who spearheaded tire experiments down south with a variety of compounds prior to the start of the recent Alltel DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in February. “The track was abrasive and the new soft tires were still in great shape after every time out so there’s great potential to run competitively the whole night on one set. They’re still track dependent where the existing soft tires are too hard but we’re confident the teams will be happy when we bring them out.”
Along with the new Hoosier D200, the existing DIRT soft compound will be labeled D300, the existing DIRT hard compound will be labeled D400 and the DIRT Extra Hard compound will become D500.
“We’ve received a lot of feedback so our immediate goal is to save teams time while making the racing better from the beginning of heats to the end of the feature,” said Cory Reed, DIRTcar NorthEast Director of Series & Track Sanctioning. “We were pleased with the results in Florida and are looking forward to the debut of the new softer compound in a couple months. Hopefully, the fans will notice a difference too.”
Hoosier is beginning its 13th straight season as the tire of choice for DIRTcar NE Racing.
For further questions regarding the Hoosier Tire compounds available for use in 2008, please contact Cory Reed in the DIRTcar NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) or log into the DIRTcar homepage at www.dirtcar.com to find out more about the entire circuit.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.
