The history of Hoosier Racing Tire is one of an American Dream come true for two young Indiana entrepreneurs who turned a personal vision into a reality. It began in the early 1950s when Bob Newton and his wife Joyce began a successful racing career on the small asphalt tracks of northern Indiana. Like many of his fellow drivers, Bob wanted more than driving on street tires with their limited sizing options and complex tread compounds. During these early days, Bob had the vision to produce his own tires specifically designed for racing.

In 1957, Bob and Joyce began producing their race tires by re-treading street tires with softer compounds. They started their business in an abandoned horse barn in South Bend, Indiana, selling their tires to local racers. They chose the Hoosier name for their company to reflect the origin of Bob’s racing roots on the short tracks of the Midwest, and the purple colour that embodies the Hoosier Tire brand today was inspired by Bob’s first racing car.

Although the recapping business had become very successful, Bob knew that future growth would require purpose-built, all-new Hoosier Tires. In 1962, after a conversation with Mohawk Rubber at a dealer conference, that dream became a reality. The first purpose-built racing tire soon followed. When Mohawk closed its doors in 1978, The Newton’s opened their factory, the first dedicated explicitly to producing race tires in Plymouth, Indiana.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Bob led the Hoosier Tire Team into the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1988. In the first year at the highest level of American Auto Racing, Hoosier captured nine victories while getting their marquee win at the Daytona 500 in 1989.

In 1992, Hoosier took another bold step and decided to build its second tire plant in preparation for the company’s return to NASCAR’s Winston Cup series. This tire plant was solely devoted to manufacturing tubeless radial race tires. The company returned to NASCAR in 1994 and captured 11 pole positions and four wins. This same radial tire technology is the foundation for Hoosier’s continued success in SCCA, SOLO, and Vintage Sports Car Racing.

The turn of the century also saw Hoosier Tire complete a massive, multi-year plant consolidation and upgrade program, bringing all manufacturing operations into one complex. In 2011, a partnership was formed between Hoosier and Continental Tire where the two companies would collaborate to produce and market the Official Spec Tire of the Rolex Sports Car Series. This program lasted for eight years. On October 4, 2016, Continental Tire purchased Hoosier Racing Tire.