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| Hoosier Tire History | Hoosier Tire History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It all began back in the early 50's when Robert "Bob" Newton, along with his supportive wife Joyce, began a successful racing career on the small asphalt tracks
of northern Indiana. Bob, like many of his fellow drivers, was not satisfied with driving on street tires with their limited sizing options and uniformly hard
tread compounds. It was during these early days of "eating bologna sandwiches and sleeping on a creeper under his racer" that Bob had a vision to produce his
own tires specifically designed for racing.
So, in 1957, Bob and Joyce decided to begin producing their own race tires by re-treading street tires with softer compounds. They began their business in an
old abandoned horse barn in South Bend, Indiana, selling their tires to local racers. The "Hoosier" name was chosen for their company to reflect the origin of
Bob's racing roots on the short tracks of the Midwest. The company color of purple came from Bob's #4 race car.
Then, on Thanksgiving weekend in 1978, the Newtons were delivered news that could have ended the ever-expanding business that their small work force had worked
so hard to develop. Mohawk was closing the Akron plant and, as a result, was about to end their ability to produce new race tires. Faced with this potentially
devastating news, Bob and Joyce made a decision that has changed the face of racing forever. With their long association with the local bank, they were able to
mortgage their home and Hoosier Tire to raise the capital needed to build the world's first and only factory solely devoted to the production of racing tires.
Located in Plymouth, Indiana, just down the road from the corporate office in Lakeville, the factory began production in 1979 with just a handful of employees
under the name "R & J Mfg. Corp." (for Robert and Joyce). 
The Hoosier name, while well known in the racing community by the late '80s, was not yet a nationally or internationally recognized name. Then, in 1988, the
company went Winston Cup racing, taking on the "Goliath" of the tire business. Hoosier, in its first year of competition in the series, went on to capture 9
victories and worldwide fame. The following year, Hoosier tires were on the winning car in the grand-daddy of all races, the Daytona 500. While this success was
on a bias-ply tire, work had already begun at Hoosier on producing a radial tire that would work in racing applications.
In 1991, after three years of research and development, Hoosier introduced its own radial race tire into the Busch Grand National series with great success.
That same year, Bob took his vision of complete in-house control of the manufacturing processes needed to produce Hoosier tires one step further. The company
purchased a multi-million dollar, one-of-a-kind, new four-roll "Z" calendar to go into an equally new state-of-the-art calendaring facility next to the existing
mixing plant. This innovation allowed Hoosier to apply rubber directly onto its own specially woven fabrics while maintaining the very tight tolerances that
their engineers needed to build tires that would perform under the extreme speeds and high heat of racing.
In 1992, Hoosier took another bold step and decided to build its second tire building plant in preparation for the company's return to NASCAR's Winston Cup
series. This tire plant was solely devoted to the manufacture of tubeless radial race tires constructed with inner safety shields and designed to run on super
speedway tracks at speeds in excess of 200 mph. In 1994, after three successful seasons in the Busch series, the company made the move up to the premier NASCAR
Winston Cup series where it went on to enjoy its most successful season to that time. In that year, the talented Geoff Bodine claimed victory on Hoosier's
innovative radial race tires four times in the #7 Exide Battery / Montgomery Ward "Auto Express" Ford.
In 1995, Hoosier was chosen as the sole supplier for all series events for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). This allowed Hoosier to continue
developing tires for super speedway tracks. Also, the funding which had been used in the Winston Cup and Busch series was now available to assist an explosive
growth plan which the company initiated at this time. Over the next several years, additional professional staff were added, including more engineers, compound,
product managers and track support personnel. The company financed further plant expansions and added more equipment. More production personnel and
administrative staff were hired. All of this allowed the company to continue participating in its existing racing venues even as it penetrated additional
markets while still assuring all of its customers a reliable supply of high quality racing tires.
In 1998, Bob and Joyce made the decision to re-name "R & J Mfg. Corp.," the manufacturing side of their growing company, as "Hoosier Tire & Rubber Corp." This
removed the shroud of secrecy which the company had maintained within the community and industry concerning its manufacturing base.
Today, Hoosier is the largest race tire manufacturer in the world, and all Hoosier race tires are still proudly "Made in the USA." The company continues to be
privately owned and operated by the Newton family, and founders Bob and Joyce remain actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Hoosier (as do many
Newton family members). Hoosier has grown to be one of the largest employers in Plymouth, Indiana, and produces over 1000 different types of race tires. The
company has its own 300-mph test wheel; a technology center; state-of-the-art, fully-integrated production facilities; and a model sales and distribution
network in Lakeville, Indiana, which others seek to emulate.
