HANSEN, GORDON MAKE IT A GOODYEAR 1-2 SHOWCASE AT HOMESTEAD ALL-PRO , RACE
3 March 2000
HOMESTEAD, Fla., (March 3) -- Scott Hansen discovered a new way to put Goodyear Eagle tires into the winner's circle: Take the car to a series where Goodyear hasn't competed until now. Hansen was the class of the field in the Feb. 25 NASCAR Slim Jim All-Pro Series opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The driver of the AFCO Racing Products/Structural Transport Ford handily won the pole position with a new track record, led the most laps and pocketed $14,625 for winning the Miami 150. More impressive, Hansen won the race on Goodyear Eagles, one of just five cars in the 30-car field equipped with the Goodyear Eagle tires. Benny Gordon finished second to Hansen, making it a 1-2 finish for Goodyear in the tire company's return to the All-Pro series. In recent years, the series had run exclusively on Hoosier tires. "This was the same tire we ran in Phoenix the past couple of years and our results there have been wonderful," said Hansen, who has five career wins on the Arizona oval including the 1997 and 1999 Featherlite Southwest Series 300-kilometer events on Goodyear's international tire produced in Chile. "I knew the tire was going to be very, very good at Homestead based on our results from Phoenix. "Goodyear's pick was excellent. The tires were a huge factor in the outcome of this race. Although Goodyear hadn't competed in the All-Pro Series, they do compete in the other NASCAR Touring late model divisions and they race at Homestead in the Winston Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Trucks. Goodyear has a great development program and great engineers; they aren't going to get caught with their pants down on tire selection in a new series." The Goodyear-equipped car of Scott Carlson looked to be heading for a podium finish until he was caught out during a caution period, losing a lap. He came back to finish 10th, putting three of the Goodyear-equipped cars in the top 10. Hansen praised Goodyear's commitment to quality with its international tire. "This is a pretty serious business when you^re running these speeds," he said. "Goodyear did its homework developing quality tires for us. I've won on the Chilean tires for two or three years and they are safe, reliable and everything about them has been wonderful." "Scott Hansen and Benny Gordon gave Goodyear an incredible 1-2 win against a quality field," said Carolyn Ashbee, Goodyear marketing manager, short track racing. "We're very pleased to be back in the NASCAR Slim Jim All-Pro Series and succeeding against the competitive challenge. "We're elated with the recent performance of the tires from our Santiago, Chile, plant," Ashbee added. "This victory gave a good indication of our competitive product. We're going to do whatever it takes to be competitive and be the tire of choice in this series."