Retired Toyo Tire Vice President Earl L. Knoper died June 12 at age 67. He was a 21-year veteran of the company and had served in the tire industry for more than 41 years.
During his tenure at Toyo, Knoper oversaw the introduction of several new tires that helped create the company’s car and light truck line. One such item, the Proxes S/T for pickups and SUVs, helped revolutionize the sport truck market with groundbreaking sizes fitting up to 23-inch diameter wheels.
As the sport compact market was also developing at a rapid pace, Knoper secured sponsorships in sport compact drag racing, Hot Import Nights and associations with movies such as “The Fast and the Furious.”
Knoper was also passionate about the sport of road racing, including flying one memorable year with his wife Jan on the Concord to watch a Formula One race in Monte Carlo.
In 2001, he signed a multi-year sponsorship with SCCA Pro Racing for Toyo to become the Official Tire of the SPEED World Challenge. The long-term arrangement continues to this day.
After retiring from Toyo at the end of 2005, Knoper served briefly as president of SCCA Pro Racing. He and Jan had recently moved to DeWitt, Mich.
Knoper “will be truly missed by the Toyo Tires family,” according to company executives.
