National: Goodyear Racing Indy ORP summary

VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS HELP GOODYEAR COLLECT THREE WINS

CLERMONT, Ind. (Sept. 7, 2009) -- Veteran drag racer Brian Forrester attended his first Mac Tools U.S. Nationals NHRA drag race when he was four years old.

He's been here every year since and now he's a U.S. Nationals winner. Part of the story: Goodyear's D2532 rear drive tire.

"It's just an all-around more consistent tire," Forrester said.

Forrester (Parish, Fla.) and Edmond Richardson (Greenbrier, Tenn.) won their Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series categories racing on Goodyear rubber. Get Screened America Pro Mod Challenge racer Roger Burgess (Duluth, Ga.) did the same. All told, Goodyear-equipped cars won six of the dozen categories at the NHRA showcase, also known as The Big Go.

The event is held each year at O'Reilly Raceway Park, which is close enough to Indianapolis that the race is sometimes simply called "Indy."

Forrester drove a 1963 Corvette in the Super Gas category. His 9.929-second, 155.08 mph run in the final round gave him his first Indy win and his second victory on the national stage this season. He also won in Super Comp at the NHRA Gatornationals earlier this year.

The D2532 measures 33.5 inches tall and 17 inches across the tread. It in a bias-ply tire that mounts on a 16-inch rim and, for Forrester, helped satisfy a life-long dream.

"I've been coming to this race since I was four years old," he said. "I've been here every year since. I started racing here in 1989."

Forrester's Indy win came on his third trip to the final round here.

Richardson said, "I can retire now," after collecting his first victory in The Big Go. The win, in the NHRA's Super Comp category, came on a set of Goodyear's D1022 rear drive tires.

The D1022 is another bias-ply tire used by racers in several drag racing applications. At this year's U.S. Nationals teams used the D1022 in the Alcohol and Pro Mod categories, as well as in Richardson's Super Comp racing.

Richardson said he is a drag racing driving instructor and "I gave eight free lessons this week," during his qualifying and elimination rounds.

Burgess won the Pro Mod final round in a 1967 Camaro, using a pair of Goodyear D3199 rear drive tires. The D3199 sizes up at 36 inches tall and 17 inches across the tread. It is mounted on a 16-inch rim.

-credit: goodyear racing