SOUTH BOSTON, Va. (March 8, 2022) -- Virtually the entire world is feeling the pinch of shortages and delays of various products. The racing industry is no different, as it is currently facing a continuation of the tire shortages from the previous year.
South Boston Speedway is not immune to this shortage, but track officials have assurances from Hoosier Racing Tire representatives as well as plans in place to limit any potential disruptions.
“We’re confident we will have enough tires to make it through the upcoming season,” said South Boston Speedway General Manager Chase Brashears. “We are in constant communication with Doughton Racing Performance, our tire vendor, and Hoosier Racing Tire about the potential shortage. While there is certainly a tire shortage, we are confident in the communications we’ve had with those groups and the plans they have laid out that we will make it through the season with little to no disruption to our schedule.”
South Boston Speedway’s current inventory of practice tires is very limited.
“Our practice tire inventory will be very minimal,” Brashears noted, “but we are working with our competitors to use common sense approaches to help them through the lack of practice tires.”
South Boston Speedway Director of Competition Jeff Bomar said every effort is being made to successfully deal with the shortage and to be fair to competitors.
“We have worked hard and in lock-step with Hoosier Racing Tire and Doughton Performance Products to ensure our tire allotment is fair and that we have enough tires when needed. Working alongside our competitors, we have reduced the number of practice tires used throughout all divisions and have trimmed down the number of race tires needed.”
Irish Saunders, Business Unit Manager of the Asphalt Oval/2-Wheel Offroad Division of Hoosier Racing Tire Corporation says appropriate conservation measures will help track operators and competitors successfully deal with the tire shortage.
“In my 42 years at Hoosier I have never seen this happen,” Saunders pointed out. “With everyone’s help implementing conservation efforts, such as the ones that South Boston Speedway have in place, we are confident we will make it through the 2022 season. I believe we have all gotten better at allocating tires, from what we learned in 2021.”
Patience is a big key in dealing with the situation, Brashears said.
“We encourage patience and a common-sense approach on the part of all stakeholders, including the leaders of the various racing series, operators of other tracks, and competitors as it relates to the tire shortage,” he explained. “Spreading rumors and not collaborating are detrimental to successfully getting through this tire shortage. Every racer, track, and series must work together to fairly reduce their needs for tires down to more realistic numbers. All of us are needing the same materials, and we are all pulling from the same sources, thus overloading the system.
“This is not about grabbing money from each tire sale right now,” Brashears continued. “This is about managing inventory so that we can all keep cars on track and fans entertained! If everyone does their part, we will be able to help one another through this situation.”
South Boston Speedway has been doing its part over the past several years to reduce tire use and tire costs for competitors through the implementation of different tire rules. In 2016, South Boston Speedway implemented a two-tire rule in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division. The track has also implemented tire rules for its lower divisions to help those competitors reduce costs as well.
For the 2022 season, South Boston Speedway has moved to a new rule in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division in which competitors will purchase four tires every other event.
This rule allows for virtually the same number of tires competitors used during the 2021 season, while helping to maintain more consistent competition for competitors.
In addition, South Boston Speedway will continue to use the Hoosier F-50 tire for the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car Division and the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division. That tire performs well and is a hard-compound tire, which allows competitors to get more use from each tire.
South Boston Speedway will host its annual Open Practice/Media Day event on Saturday, March 12. The event will run from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Fans can watch the on-track action free of charge from the track’s frontstretch grandstands.
The latest news and updates from South Boston Speedway are available on the speedway’s website, southbostonspeedway.com, and through the track’s social media channels. Information may also be obtained by phoning the speedway at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.