Carl Robinson has more questions than answers this morning.

The Motorsports Manager for Mickey Thompson Tires learned the NHRA has made Goodyear the spec tire for its Pro Stock car division. How he learned of the news remains an issue for Robinson.

Someone sent him a link to a posting hidden within the NHRA’s website, a rules amendment which would require some digging to locate.

Once Robinson clicked on the link, he saw the following:

Carl Robinson has way more questions than answers this morning.

The Motorsports Manager for Mickey Thompson Tires learned the NHRA has made Goodyear the spec tire for its Pro Stock car division. How he learned remains an issue for Robinson.

Someone outside of the sanctioning body sent him a link to a posting hidden in the NHRA’s website, a rules amendment which would require some digging to locate.

Once Robinson clicked on the link, he saw the following:

TIRES & WHEELS: 5

TIRES

Page 210

ADD:

"Restricted to Goodyear-only tires, as specified by NHRA."

Compounding this issue is the amendment was posted on 12-19-2008 per the page and as of 12-23-2008, Robinson said Mickey Thompson Tires, a supplier at all 24 events on the NHRA schedule and contingency sponsor, hadn’t been notified.

“I think it’s unfortunate that we found out the way we did,” Robinson said.

Robinson said the first call he made upon discovering this news was to the sanctioning body for answers; answers he’s still waiting for.

“I’ve addressed that with Charlie Nielsen [NHRA sponsor liaison] and he didn’t even know anything about it at the time,” Robinson said. “Obviously I’ve addressed this with him and still waiting to hear back with an explanation. He didn’t even know what was behind this.”

“We weren’t involved in any of the decision making. If we can just buy classes then I need to figure out which ones I need to buy and then buy some.”

Robinson confirmed that Mickey Thompson Tires has been involved in what he deems a “big tire development program” with one of the products being developed a tire for Pro Stock. He added his company has invested a significant amount of money in development.

Mickey Thomson Tires retained the services of Billy Glidden and conducted numerous tires tests in preparation for a future foray into the Pro Stock division. While they weren’t complete in the development of their tire, they were getting close to having a product capable of withstanding the rigors of the class.

Jason Molton, Product Development Manager for Mickey Thompson Tires, added the issue was never about safety.

“That was never an issue,” Molton said. “We’ve never had a problem with the safety of our big tire.”

In addition to Mickey Thompson Tires, Hoosier Tires also tested the waters of NHRA Pro Stock with modest results.

That leaves Robinson and his team scratching their heads and demanding answers, especially in the wake of such a global economic crisis where every dollar spent in business is critical.

“I really can’t understand that until I know what grounds they made the decision under,” Robinson said. “I’ve always understood the reasoning behind the fuel classes, they [Goodyear] have always had the best resources for a class like that and the liabilities, but there’s nothing like that in Pro Stock.

“What’s to end this at Pro Stock? What if they want to buy Pro Stock Motorcycle? Every single tire in that class is run on our product line yet we get virtually no love from the sanctioning body from that. We support that whole class.”

In the interest of full disclosure, Mickey Thompson Tires is an advertiser on CompetitionPlus.com.