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South Boston Speedway and Hoosier Racing Tire, two leaders in short-track asphalt racing, are forging new ground together with South Boston Speedway becoming the first weekly short track to commit to using the new Hoosier ST2 racing tire for the entire 2024 season.

The ST2 tire is part of Hoosier’s new ST line of Late Model asphalt racing tires, a versatile line of tires that provides asphalt racing competitors with a line of tires that can be used at most tracks by most racing series.

South Boston Speedway will use the ST2 tire in both the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division and its Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division this season.

“There are many reasons why the new Hoosier ST2 tire will be perfect for South Boston Speedway,” said South Boston Speedway General Manager Brandon Brown. “As the asphalt has aged from our 2017 repave, grip has diminished, and this tire is right in line with what fits our track. We made this decision after thorough testing to make sure the tire did exactly what we needed it to do. After receiving feedback from everyone involved, we’re confident our racers will love the new tire and our fans will be treated to a great product on the track.”

Engineers at Hoosier tout the new line of tires as being more durable and more consistent for racers and their crew chiefs, allowing them to use their previous baseline chassis setups at most tracks with a minimal amount of adjustment. The versatility of the new ST line of tires is targeted to provide tracks and racing series a line of tires for continued use year-over-year. Hoosier previously announced the CARS Tour will also be racing on the ST2 tires starting in 2024, as well.

‘The betterment of weekly motorsports’ 

“We created the line of ST tires for the betterment of weekly motorsports,” said Hoosier Racing Tire Asphalt Business Unit Manager Irish Saunders. “We wanted to make a more repeatable and better tire to help our racers and the industry as a whole, and this tire does that. The ST2 tire fits South Boston Speedway’s needs, and we’re excited to see it run there in 2024.”

South Boston Speedway and Hoosier have worked together closely in gathering data to ensure that the Hoosier ST2 tire will work well on the .4-mile oval. Two separate tire tests were conducted at South Boston Speedway, one with 2022 South Boston Speedway track champion and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series late model national champion Layne Riggs and another with two-time NASCAR national champion and six-time South Boston Speedway champion Peyton Sellers.

When South Boston Speedway was repaved in 2017 the Hoosier F-50 tires – a harder compound than the ST2s – were the option that produced the best racing product for both competitors and fans. Now, that the asphalt has aged and some of the grip has been lost, the new Hoosier ST2 tire is now an ideal option for South Boston Speedway.

“We tested the ST2 tire to see if it would hold up under the unique conditions that South Boston Speedway poses, and make sure that it repeats well and that it’s a very cost-effective tire,” Sellers explained. “It stayed under the car very well, and it held up better than the F-45 here at South Boston Speedway. It was faster, and very stable. I felt like I’d be able to drive underneath somebody and not lose control.

“It’s a great combination of the F-45 and the F-50,” Sellers added. “From a competition side, the ST2 is going to be a good, good option to go with.”

Used for the first time 

The new ST2 tires will be used for the first time at South Boston Speedway when the Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division competitors hit the track for a 100-lap race as part of the track’s March 23 season-opening event. The Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division will make their 2024 season debut with the ST2 on April 13.

“Having both our Late Model Stock Cars and Limited Sportsman cars on the same tire will be great for our competitors and will provide continuity across the two divisions,” Brown said.

South Boston Speedway will adopt a four-tire rule in its Sentara Health Late Model Stock Car Division this year, meaning teams will buy four new tires per event night. The track will keep its two-tire every-other-race rule in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division for the 2024 season.