How long has Phoenix been manufacturing drag tires?
In the mid-90’s, Firestone decided to pull out of the drag racing business to concentrate on winning the Indy 500 and CART championships (which they did). A distributor group purchased the drag tire line at that time. Eventually, the group disbanded, and 1998, a group of ex-Firestone drag racing personnel, together with investors, formed Phoenix and purchased the drag tire molds from Firestone. These molds were revamped and Phoenix set off to produce a new generation of drag tires using the highly successful Firestone compounds. The mold designs currently used today are approximately 30 years old. During the process of revamping (primarily to change the sidewall name from Firestone to Phoenix), the sidewalls were smoothed which improved rubber flow during the molding process and, consequently, also helps to stop air leakage. Phoenix still contacts Firestone engineers when necessary to answer those important questions. Does Phoenix make a drag slick specifically for Type-1 VW’s? Yes, th
