Goodyear named Off-Road Racing Tire Manufacturer Champ

Off-road racing celebrated a championship weekend in Crandon, Wis. with the World Series of Off-Road Racing (WSORR) crowning a number of series winners based on their season-long performances on the hills, bumps and dirt of several tough courses. When the dust settled, six of the 11 class champions were competitors racing on Goodyear Wrangler off-road tires, and the company was named Off-Road Racing Tire Manufacturer Champion by the series.

The WSORR capped its 2008 season with competition at historic Crandon International Off-Road Raceway’s 1.5-mile track as competitors battled for a weekend purse of $175,000. The Labor Day Weekend at Crandon completed the 12 rounds of racing included in the ‘08 program, which also involved events held this summer at other off-road facilities throughout the Midwest.

“This is the third consecutive year that Goodyear has had more world champions in the World Series of Off-Road Racing than any other brand, and this is very satisfying for us and those who race on our tires,” says Melissa Montisano, Goodyear’s general manager for light-truck tires. “For off-road enthusiasts, competition in dirt and mud is the playing field, and they recognize when a tire wins consistently in that kind of environment.”

Further evidence of Goodyear Wrangler performance and toughness comes from the fact that five of the six WSORR championships this year were won with “off-the-shelf” Wranglers -- not race-specific compounds, but the same off-road tires that any consumer enthusiast can purchase, she points out.

The PRO 4x4 World Series Championship was captured by Kent Brascho of Pell City, Ala., who wrapped up the title with a second-place finish in the Aug. 30 Round 11 race. Brascho’s Goodyear-equipped Chevrolet won the title, making him one of nine new WSORR class champions in the 11 classes competing in the series.

PRO Super Buggy racer John Mason of Plymouth, Wis. drove his Mendeola Goodyear Honda to fourth place in Round 11, good enough to clinch the season series. Winning the Crandon race was fellow Goodyear driver Tim Lemons, who finished second to Mason in the season series.

In the WSORR SRT (Sportsman) Division, Keith Steele of Madison, Wis. capped off a terrific year in the Super Truck class with two more wins, a World Championship ring and a WSORR championship. For Steele, the Crandon double-win weekend gave him eight race victories in the 12-race season for his Monster Energy Goodyear Chevrolet

Dave DeMaegd of Mishawaka, Ind. was one of only two WSORR points-champs to retain his title for a second year, as he secured his SRT Formula 4x4 championship with a pair of second-place finishes at Crandon in his Goodyear-equipped Jeep. He edged out fellow Goodyear driver Tim Moeller for the SRT Formula 4x4 title.

The other repeating WSORR champion was Rob Weiland in the Classix Division. Weiland finished in third place in Round 11, which was good enough to capture the season title in his Goodyear Chevrolet.

Jim Van Rixel, also racing on Wranglers, took the 2008 WSORR Enduro title.

All the class winners will be honored at the Oct. 4 WSORR Night of Champions awards banquet in Milwaukee.

Montisano notes that the Wrangler MT/R, featuring Durawall Technology to resist punctures and cuts, is available in a variety of sizes ranging from 15- to 18-inch rim diameters and up to 40-inches in outer diameter to outfit popular off-road enthusiast vehicles.

For more information, visit www.goodyeartires.com.