Zach Yost

ROSSBURG, Ohio — Hoosier Racing Tires today announced a National Late Model Tire that will debut for the 2023 season with the goal of reducing and streamlining tire choices for Super Late Model teams. | Complete Eldora coverage

Revealing the new program during a press conference held in Eldora Speedway’s media center, Hoosier officials said its four tire compounds — dubbed 1, 2, 3 and 4 (softest to hardest) — will be the only Super Late Model tires the Lakeville, Ind.-based company plans to build in ’23.

“It will be similar (to the existing LM 10-20-30-40 tires) but different,” Shanon Rush, the oval dirt product manager for the sport's dominant tire manufacturer, told DirtonDirt.com. “It’ll have the same tread pattern as the (DIRTcar) tires — it will be the Large Cross Block (LCB) tread — but it’ll be a whole new tire line. It won’t share any catalog numbers with anything else and it will have a different sidewall nomenclature.”

The World Racing Group’s Super Late Model entities — World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series and DIRTcar — and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series have committed to using the National Late Model Tire beginning in 2023. Hoosier is hopeful the program quickly expands to other series and tracks.

“There’s still a lot of selling to be done, don’t get me wrong,” Rush said. “Do we have Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws support behind it? We believe so. But how it matriculates down to the regional and the local track level, that’s the next step that we’re gonna have to take.”

Rush said the 90-inch version of the tire will offer 1, 2 and 3 NLMT compounds while the 92-inch tires will be built in 2, 3 and 4 NLMT compounds. (The softest tire isn’t necessarily usable for the right-rear corner and the hardest typically wouldn’t be used on the front). Overall Hoosier will now produce six compounds of Super Late Model tires vs. 26 previously.

“We want to try to limit the number of tires guys have to buy,” Rush said. “The whole crux of this program is to help reduce the cost for the racers.”

While prices haven’t been announced, Hoosier expects the new compounds to have a reduced retail price from current tires. Additionally, Rush said a no-sipe/no-groove mandate will be in effect initially with the National Late Model compounds, further reducing time to prepare tires for competition.

January’s six-race Wild West Shootout at Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park is tentatively scheduled to serve as the launch of the new tire program.

Hoosier’s goal is to develop a similar program for Crate Late Models in 2024, Rush added.