Hoosier Racing Tire raised its prices across the board mid-season, coming as a surprise to many. American Racer, however, said they’ll keep their prices the same.
“I was blindsided — no one told me the price of [Hoosier] tires had gone up until I got my invoice,” said Brenda Holcombe, co-promoter of County Line Raceway, who recently received 60 Hoosier late model tires. “There was nothing in the in the packing slip mentioning a price increase.”
Holcombe asked their distributor for an explanation.
“A 6% increase across the board as a result of what? In the middle of the year?” Holcombe asked. “[The distributor] said the company’s response was that it was a result of tariffs. I always thought Hoosier was an American-made product not affected by tariffs. Blaming tariffs seems like an excuse to me.”
It led to Holcombe now offering American Racer tires as an alternative. American Racer has not raised their prices this year.
“Prior to covid, we went six years without a price increase,” American Racer distributor Ray Cook said. “American Racer tire prices only go up when they have to.”
Scott Junod, who’s the Director of Racing for Race Tires America, the company that produces American Racer tires, had a clear message for racers.
“American Racer is not doing a mid-season price increase — that is absolutely official,” Junod said. “We are in really good shape inventory wise. This is not like it was in toilet paper hoarding days. There is no pressure on inbound raw materials. We’re moving product.”
Hoosier Racing Tire did not answer our requests for comment. However, it’s clear the concern Holcombe, among others, have for the recent price change.
“I’m looking out for racers running third and back — they are the ones being hit the hardest increases they can’t afford,” said Holcombe. “We need full fields of cars. I’m looking out for our drivers, who look out for us by showing up every week.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
