DirtonDirt exclusive
Hoosier's new right rear improves sidebite, wear
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt.com staff reporter
Hoosier Racing Tire on Monday will unveil a revised version of its right-rear tire for Dirt Late Models, a slightly wider tire that’s proven in testing to provide better sidebite, balance and wear.
The Lakeville, Ind.-based tire manufacturer is altering the construction of its National Late Model Tire for the first time since the 2023 introduction of a limited-compound program that governs many tours, including the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
The new NLMT right-rear has a sidewall that clones the former NRM-W open-competition tire, the tire once widely used in the Southeast because of its performance on harder-packed, more abrasive racetracks, “except (the new tire) has a molded tread pattern,” said Shanon Rush, the oval track dirt product manager at Hoosier.
The revised right-rear tire has a taller, softer sidewall from the current construction’s shorter, more rigid carcass that closely resembled the former LM-20, LM-30 and LM-40 tires the NLMT was initially based on.
After a year’s worth of testing with various chassis manufacturers, the consensus from Rush and the Hoosier team is the new right-rear tire is more versatile in different regions and gives drivers improved handling of their race cars.
The tire "is designed to provide better sidebite, quicker recovery, and better balance of drive on corner exit,” Rush said. “Testing has shown it can improve tire wear and reduce tire temperature as well.”
The new tire is “virtually the same tread width as the current tire, but it is a half-inch wider in section width,” Rush added.
Why is Hoosier making this significant adjustment in the middle of the season? For starters, Rush and the Hoosier team felt it was time to boost the performance of the NLMT right-rear tire.
“We are constantly evaluating and evolving the NLMT program to address customer feedback and the changing landscape of Dirt Late Model racing,” Rush said. “We felt this was the next evolution necessary to keep the NLMT program relevant.
“This is a direct replacement tire. We are not adding another option, we are replacing the current NLMT right-rear nationwide. Therefore, we are not asking the series to add a tire; we are simply replacing our current tire.”
The compounds remain the same as the previous NLMT version for the right-rear choices: 2 (softer), 3 (mid-range) or 4 (hardest). There are "no plans to change the left-rear or fronts of the NLMT program,” Rush added.
In transitioning to the new tires with burn-off periods, Rush and Hoosier “are requesting that every series and track allow both right-rears for the duration of the 2025 season to help customers use up their existing inventory, or sell it down to other teams.”
But as Rush knows, it’s up to series directors to decide on how to implement the new tires. The Lucas Oil and World of Outlaws tour directors told DirtonDirt tentatively plan to allow teams to use the current and new versions of the tires through the 2025 season.
Hoosier decided to release the tires ahead of Easter weekend because of a lighter race schedule (neither national tour is in action) and has made plans to ensure availability for regional events through wholesale distributors.
Mike Nuchols, owner of Warrior Race Cars in Seymour, Tenn., believes Hoosier’s new right-rear tire is a step in the right direction after his primary house-car driver Rusty Ballenger logged many test laps.
“The drivers get more feel back in the race car instantly,” Nuchols said. “We’ve run a lot of laps on it, and even as of last Friday, we tested on it. Testing back-to-back on the standard NLMT tire to this new, rib-style NLMT tire, it was almost two-tenths (faster) just bolting it on.
“(Ballenger) said the change to the race car was unbelievable. It stuck the race car again. He could feel the right-rear-tire. The tire is more consistent through the length of a run. The (original NLMT tire) gave up a little bit where you’d have to whoa up and get the tire back underneath you, and you’d take off again. It puts the race car back where it was five years ago.”
Rush calls the 3-year-old NLMT program “very successful” and hopes the updated right-rear construction continues the program intended to cut down the number of Hoosier tires teams require.
“In areas where the program was fully adopted, car counts have maintained or increased, tire consumption has been reduced, and drivers have expanded their travel to new events since they already have the necessary tires,” Rush said. “It will always be a work in progress and have those who resist it, but conceptually, it has been good.”
While Hoosier has more information forthcoming about the new NLMT right-rear, Rush said they’ll “recommend an increase in right rear air pressure with the newly designed tire.”
“Historically, we added air pressure to our NRM-W tire due to its soft sidewall characteristics,” Rush continued. “Our recommendations increased to 15 PSI on high-speed or rough tracks, 13 PSI in slower conditions, and no lower than 11 PSI ever.
“Also, we expect the new right-rear chalkmarks to be smaller than the current tire as the change from chalkmark to rollout should be approximately 2 inches. For example, a 94-inch chalkmark should yield a final rollout of 92 inches.”
Cosmetically the new right-rear tires are not only slightly wider but have dimpled blocks in a tread pattern called vented cross block (or VCB), Rush said, adapted from sprint car tires. The dimples help decrease heat and minimize blistering if the tire gets overheated, Nuchols said.
• Separate from the introduction of the new right-rear tire, Hoosier later this season plans to begin selling an NLMT 2.5 tire. The compound splitting the difference between NLMT 2 and 3 tires will be tailored for regional circuits in the Southeast. Last year, Hoosier introduced a NLMT 2.25 designed for Northeast racetracks on a weekly and regional level only. The NLMT program simplified Hoosier's former wide array of tires, but Rush said “we can’t ignore the demands of our customers, so we will continue to evaluate adding additional compounds as necessary.”
Editor's note: Updates with Lucas Oil tour's decision to allow current and new tires through 2025.
