Bob Newton, the founder of Hoosier Racing Tires has died. Newton started the company in 1957 and targeted circle track racers in the south and midwest on both asphalt and dirt tracks. The company quickly grew and expanded to many different genres of racing making a huge name for themselves at the drag races as well as at sports car and professional level stock car races. Hoosier slicks can be found on the back of everything from stock eliminator cars all the way through the crazed five second door slammers that are some of the most popular and violent cars being raced across the country today. Hoosier was a tire supplier for a few Sprint Cup teams in the 1990s and garnered a couple of race wins with drivers like Geoff Bodine and Rick Mast running Hoosier shod cars.

The company survived through thick and thin, even during lean years in the 1970s that had Hoosier on the ropes. Through it all Newton and his wife guided the operation with an expert hand. By all accounts, Newton was a fine man who loved his work and his company. He and his wife were local philanthropists creating a complex now known as Newton Park in their owner. The company has always been a part of Indiana’s culture and that tradition continues today with their corporate office and manufacturing operations all based in the Lakeville and Plymouth, Indiana area.

Thanks to guys like Bob Newton, racing is faster and safer for competitors. Men like Newton formed the foundation of the high performance industry that now pumps billions into the economy each year and employs tens of thousands of people. His company was and is based wholly in the USA…something that lots of others can no longer claim.

Newton left a lasting legacy of family, philanthropy, and dedication that have all become part of the culture at Hoosier. Our thoughts are with the Newton family and the folks at Hoosier tire today.