Goodyear’s D2550 rear drive tire for the NHRA’s two top POWERade Drag Racing categories drew high praise from the drivers at the MOPAR Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

The race marked the first time the Top Fuel and Funny Car teams were obliged to use the D2550. The new product was an optional offering at the two previous races.

Funny Car winner Tim Wilkerson said over the public address system Sunday,

“I don’t know what they put in that new Goodyear tire, but God bless them.”

Wilkerson said his team used two sets of the D2550 for the weekend and that the tires on his car during the victory over Jack Beckman in the final round won the event on their fourth pass. Goodyear’s D2550 rear drive tire for the NHRA’s two top POWERade Drag Racing categories drew high praise from the drivers at the MOPAR Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

The race marked the first time the Top Fuel and Funny Car teams were obliged to use the D2550. The new product was an optional offering at the two previous races.

Funny Car winner Tim Wilkerson said over the public address system Sunday,

“I don’t know what they put in that new Goodyear tire, but God bless them.”

Wilkerson said his team used two sets of the D2550 for the weekend and that the tires on his car during the victory over Jack Beckman in the final round won the event on their fourth pass.

Gary Scelzi, a four-time NHRA champion, was more effusive: “First time on the new Goodyear tires, and I don't think they've ever built a tire as good as the one we have now. … They're round, they balance, they're fabulous. Kudos to Goodyear, they've done a great job and they need to be commended on it.”

It was a weekend of change, but Funny Car ace Tony Pedregon said, “I think mission accomplished for Goodyear. We didn’t make any adjustments. There was not much concern coming to this race on a new tire.”

The NHRA shortened the racing distance for the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories to 1,000 feet for the first time in the history of the sanctioning body. All other categories raced to the standard quarter-mile.

The Funny Car teams were mandated to use a new chassis design.

The weekend was the first professional use of the innovative cooling system recently installed below the surface of the Bandimere track. Cool water is circulated through a series of pipes below the concrete to keep the racing surface cooler over the first 150 feet of the racetrack. The idea was to help generate traction at the starting line and it drew rave reviews from the drivers.

Goodyear’s new tire was used by several teams at Englishtown, New Jersey and at Norwalk, Ohio. It drew compliments during those events, but use of the new tire was obligatory at Bandimere and it proved to be very popular.

Tony Schumacher, the Top Fuel winner, said the new tire reduced tire shake the cars usually experience at the start of a run. He said, “A quiver, but nothing uncontrollable. Great, just great.”

Cory McClenathan, another Top Fuel pilot, agreed, “It’s a slower, smoother tire shake. It’s easier on the car. It’s very well balanced. The footprint is good. When you take it back (to the pits after a run) it looks good.”