drag racing
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February 15, 2018M&H Racemaster, the originator of purpose-built drag racing tires, continues to be an innovator in the sport of drag racing. A proud supplier in Coker Tire's Performance Division, M&H announces the availability of DOT-approved drag radial tires in a new 20-inch fitment. The new M&H Racemaster 305/35R20 drag radial offers fitment for many late model performance cars, especially those using aftermarket 20-inch wheels. The new size availability gives Corvette, Camaro, Mustang and Challenger owners to equip their high horsepower vehicles with a sticky race-proven tire. This tire will be a perfect application for any of the special performance packages offered by the "big three", whether it's Chevrolet's Corvette Z06 or Camaro ZL1, Ford's Mustang GT500 or any of the cars in Mopar's SRT program. These cars are making more than 500 horsepower in original form, and certainly struggle to
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November 20, 2015A few months ago, we were introduced to Matt Harris, a motorcycle builder from Alcoa, Tennessee. His shop, 40Cal Customs builds custom motorcycles, and often uses Coker Tire products when the rubber meets the road. Leading up to SEMA 2015, Matt clued us in on a cool project that he worked out with Red Kap. The Nashville, Tennessee-based clothing company makes products that are a popular choice for automotive work uniforms, and decided to ramp up its SEMA presence at this year's show. With this increased effort, Red Kap had an awesome booth in the North Hall, and included a live motorcycle build by Matt Harris. We followed along with the progress on this Harley Davidson Shovelhead, from a bare hardtail frame and forks on Monday to a complete, running motorcycle on Friday. We love the nostalgia drag racing look, with narrow tanks, a super cool tire and wheel combination. Keep reading to learn more about the tires wheels on the Red Kap Rocket, and see more photos of this epic SEMA build.
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August 18, 2015While there was an abundance of nicely restored Tri-Five Chevys at the inaugural Tri-Five Nationals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, there were hundreds of modified cars. Some were slammed customs and some were sky-high gassers, while others had cool nostalgia vibes with '60s style modifications. We enjoyed the diversity of the show, and the fact that LOTS of cars were rolling on Coker Tire products. We picked out 15 customs and gassers to showcase here, so keep scrolling and check them out...also keep us in mind for your Tri-Five Chevy tire and wheel needs!
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August 17, 2015Last year, we heard about the Tri-Five Nationals, and instantly wanted to be a part of the inaugural event. It helps matters that it is organized and promoted by our buddy Chris Sondles from Woody's Hot Rodz, which is a shop that specializes in Tri-Five Chevy builds and sells many of our products. As the plans for the event developed, Coker Tire stepped up as one of the leading sponsors, and presented the "Celebration of 60 Years of the 1955 Chevy", a special section with original 1955 Chevrolets of many models and configurations. As we rolled into historic Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, it didn't take long to see that the Tri-Five Nationals was destined to be HUGE. And that's exactly what it was--the official car count was 1,858 registered entrants, all ranging from 1955 to 1957 Chevys, including a few pickup trucks and Corvettes from the famous Tri-Five years. Tens of thousands of spectators took part in the event, which had drag racing, autocross racing, a massive show-n-shine area, a swap meet and a packed vendor area.
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April 30, 2014Eric Gullett has spent the last six years building, rebuilding and revamping his 1969 Camaro drag car with intentions of going quick and faster with each rebuild. Eric has raced in many eighth-mile outlaw-style races over the years, and has a brand new combination for 2014. His first event of the year saw great progress on the setup, and the second event of the year resulted in a WIN!
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August 27, 2013In the drag racing world, "Big Daddy" is a household name. His real name is Don Garlits and he is a drag racing legend. He's been around the sport for many, many years, and he's strapped into some of the fastest dragsters in the world. He is an innovator, a true racer and a downright nice guy, and we were lucky enough for him to stop by and hang out for a while today.
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March 20, 2012Another week of racing resulted in yet another successful race for Phoenix Race Tires specialist and fellow racer, Mike Crutchfield. Check out his report from the weekend activities! "This past weekend at the Jegs Cajun Sports Nationals had a very good turn out with over 500 cars. The weather was spring like which made for a great race weekend. I had a lot of interaction with customers that were on Phoenix tires and with others that needed to be. Sold some tires and got some promises to sell some more. The performance based Competition Eliminator class had several cars with Phoenix tires and Kevin Self qualified
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March 14, 2012As you may know, Coker Tire has is very own Performance Division, which consists of Phoenix Race Tires, and M&H Racemaster tires. As a race tire company, we are very involved in drag racing with our two Drag Tire Specialists being avid racers in various classes. Eric Gullett races a '69 Camaro on the outlaw circuit, and has recently rebuilt his car to run in the 4.70 index class, while Mike Crutchfield runs Super Stock on the NHRA Sportsman circuit. Mike recently returned from a NHRA event in south Georgia, so take a look at his race report, and you'll see how well our Phoenix tires are working! "The weather was again less than favorable at the NHRA division 2 Lucas oil series event at South Georgia Motorsports park. Getting over 3 inches of rain and high winds during the weekend almost canceled the event but persistence prevailed and the race was finished. The Phoenix race tires again stole the spotlight in two of the major classes.
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September 08, 2011If you think all police officers hate drag racing, think AGAIN! An organization called Beat the Heat is composed of active and retired police officers who reach out to the public through a very popular hobby.....drag racing. They race in all sorts of cars, all of which have police department-style paint jobs and working lights, just like regular patrol cars. The goal is to teach children and young adults the dangers of street racing, and the fun and excitement that comes from racing at a legal drag strip. It's an awesome way to reach out! Beat the Heat has a World Finals event once a year, and for 2011 it is held right here in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were proud to have them cruise into Corkyville Thursday evening, so we opened the doors, so the racers could see everything we have to offer, including Honest Charley Speed Shop! Local police officer and drag racing enthusiast, Marty Dunn organized the event, with racers coming from all over the
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May 17, 2011Although we spend most of our time talking about antique cars and motorcycles, Coker Tire is also heavily involved with professional drag racing by offering a wide variety of drag racing tires, available at www.dragracetires.com. With our Phoenix Race Tires brand, which are born from Firestone heritage, we have a great number of supporters on the track. One such supporter is Mike Crutchfield--he campaigns a Pontiac G5 in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, running in the Super Stock class. Oh, and we should probably mention that Mike is our Vice President of Performance Brands! [caption id="attachment_1409" align="alignleft" width="350" caption="Photo by www.dragracecentral.com"][/caption]
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May 16, 2011There's something to be said for a historic race track, be it a dirt track, a paved track or a drag strip. Knowing that gear heads just like you were racing on that very surface 50 years ago is an eye opening experience that will put a smile on any car guy's face. With this in mind, folks around the country are flocking to nostalgia drag racing events at historic tracks. One such event and track, is the Paradise Show-N-Go, held at Paradise Drag Strip in Calhoun, Georgia. [caption id="attachment_1395" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Paradise Drag Strip is known for its uphill burnout box and slightly unlevel starting line, which causes cars with manual transmissions to roll backward at the line. Even with this flaw, it was a state-of-the-art track during the \'60s."][/caption] The track opened in 1961, and it was home to lots of big-name match races and also a home track to many Super Stock racers in the mid-60s. Legends of drag racing, such as "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Arnie "The Farmer" Beswick and "Dyno Don" Nicholson have raced at Paradise Drag Strip, drawing huge crowds to watch the exciting action. Back then, every driver had a nickname, and every car had a distinct personality, unlike today's professional ranks in NHRA, where each car in its class is identical, aside from a few sponsor decals.