The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Companys continuing partnership commitment with NASCAR remains firm and unaffected by the tire companys announcement on Tuesday, Oct 26, that it was withdrawing from auto racing competition in the open wheel series. Contrary to the companys increasing difficulty justifying the significant capital and resources that Goodyear has devoted to CART and the IRL, Stu Grant, general manager for global race tires, said there is no such question about being aligned with NASCAR. This announcement will have no impact on our strong relationship with NASCAR, he explained. In fact, it may even serve to strengthen the relationship as Goodyear devotes additional resources to its NASCAR marketing and technology strategies. We are firmly committed to our successful supplier and marketing partnership with NASCAR. The continued growth in fan base, track attendance and television ratings in NASCARs Winston Cup, Busch Series Grand National Division and Craftsman Truck series, represents a win-win situation for both parties. Grant further noted that our exits from Formula One, CART and IRL were business decisions that have absolutely no bearing on our relationship with the NASCAR organization. NASCAR continues to increase in popularity and is where virtually every motorsports supplier and consumer products company wants to be. We are steadily increasing our partnership with NASCAR, as evidenced by the recent introduction of the new Goodyear/NASCAR consumer tire and other marketing and promotional programs.(Goodyear PR)
