Goodyear’s D4305 Drag Radial Takes Victory In Georgia
VALDOSTA, Geo. (March 1, 2010) – Sometimes tires scream and sometimes they screech. But Sunday, at the ORTC/UORS Night The Lights Went Out Outlaw Radial Tire Championship at South Georgia Motorsports Park, Goodyear’s D4305 DOT drag radial tire made a statement.
The race drew cars with wildly differing drag racing applications and matched purpose-built drag racing slick tires against DOT-approved, grooved tires like the D4305. The competitors included cars from the Outlaw Radial Tire Championship (ORTC) and the Unlimited Outlaw Racing Series (UORS) and other series.
Tony Pirez Sr. used a pair of D4305s on his 1988 Chevrolet Camaro to win the Xtreme 275 category. The category matches grooved tires the same size as the D4305 against cars with racing slicks with a 10.5-inch wide tread. Two of the four cars in the semi-final round sported Goodyear D4305 tires.
The D4305 is a 275/60R15 radial. It is DOT approved, although it is intended for race track use only.
“This tire is just really responsive as far as track temperature change,” said Pirez’ son, Tony Pirez, Jr. A racer himself, the younger Pirez is the chief mechanic on his father’s car. “Regardless of how hot or cold the track was, it (the D4305) just kept responding.”
The younger Pirez raced on Goodyear radials before and convinced his father to switch to Goodyears in 2010.
“He was confident about racing on them after the first or second pass,” Tony Jr. said. “He was pretty much sold on them.”
Tony Sr. lives in Brandon, Fla. The younger Pirez lives in Land O’ Lakes, Fla. and attends the University of South Florida, where is majoring in Advertising. The elder Pirez started racing about the time was the age his son is now.
Another category, Ultimate Street, also sported two Goodyear-shod cars in the semi-finals. One of those cars, the Ford Mustang driven by Bob Kurgan, reached the final round.
Goodyear engineer Chad Fonger said, “Our Goodyear DOT radials drew a lot of attention at South Georgia, especially after most of our customers started winning rounds. It was a very successful weekend and Goodyear got a great deal of help from Joe Miller of Holeshot Wheels.”
