Goodyear, which exclusively supplies the tires for NASCAR’s three major national series, is transforming its Racing Eagle rubber for the high-profile Sprint Cup and Nationwide races over the July 4th holiday weekend. The new design, featuring a red, white and blue color scheme reading “Support Our Troops” on the tires’ sidewalls, is designed to say “thank you” to members of the U.S. military and launch the tire maker’s Support Our Troops fundraising campaign.
The special Support Our Troops tires are positioned to help raise public awareness toward the effort; Goodyear has donated $20,000 and will auction-off driver-autographed tires used in Saturday’s Coke Zero 400.
All the money raised will be contributed to Support Our Troops, a nonprofit nationwide organization that bolsters the morale and well-being of America’s troops and their families. It delivers more than $8 million per year in care packs and requested items to the front lines and provides assistance to relatives on the home front.
“For well over 100 years, Goodyear has been supplying and supporting the U.S. military, and has been a part of NASCAR’s great history for more than 56 years,” says Kris Kienzl, the company’s NASCAR marketing manager. “Now, we’re making this historic change to honor them both. This program also waves the green flag on our fundraising and support campaign – the first lap of which will be the autographed tire auction.”
The auction, held online at Goodyear’s website, will begin when the green flag drops on July 3 and runs through July 17. The bidding offers fans “the opportunity to own a piece of history,” according to Kienzl, with tires individually autographed by drivers such as Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Each signed race-used tire will come with a certificate of authenticity that includes the driver’s name and car number, the race in which the tire was used, the driver’s finish in the race and the tire’s identification number. A minimum bid price has been set for each tire depending upon expected interest levels and ranges from $100 to $200; minimum bid prices will be displayed in each individual listing.
“We are very proud to have an iconic American company like Goodyear support us in our efforts to positively impact the lives of our country’s service men and women and their families,” says Martin C. Boire, executive director of Support Our Troops. “We are happy that NASCAR fans – some of the most patriotic and dedicated fans in the world – will have another great way to show their support through this program.”
NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, is the country’s No. 1 spectator sport and the No. 2-rated regular-season sport on television. Its races are broadcast in more than 150 countries covering 20 languages.
For more information, visit www.goodyear.com and www.supportourtroops.org.
