As Top Fuel speeds climbed on the regular last year in the National Hot Rod Association, the spotlight turned to the only part of a 12,000-horsepower nitro monster that actually touches the track: the tires.
When the now-retired two-time class champion Brittany Force blasted past 340 mph – twice in a matter of weeks in the summer of ‘25 – it wasn’t just a team accomplishment. It was proof of product dominance for Goodyear, the exclusive tire supplier for NHRA’s nitro categories.
But the question facing the manufacturer entering this weekend’s season kickoff at the Gatornationals is this: At 340-plus mph, are current tire compounds and construction still sufficient, or is it time for changes?
Todd Rogers of Goodyear’s drag racing division says nope.
“We’re still in a good place right now,” Rogers said. “Brittany had run 340 multiple times. She did it twice (last year) in Brainerd, and her tires looked really good on every one of those runs.”
That visual inspection isn’t casual. Goodyear engineers are stationed at the top end at every NHRA National event, immediately evaluating tires after high-speed passes. Rogers said he and two engineers routinely examine the tires as soon as the car returns from a pass.
“We gather the serial number off every tire so we can track the runs – who ran it, where they ran it, and how many times,” he said. “We’re looking them over as closely as we can right there.”
The focus is on surface condition, structural integrity, and any signs of compound distress. At extreme high speeds, rear slicks experience massive centrifugal forces, distortion, and heat buildup in less than four seconds. Any irregular wear pattern or structural anomaly becomes a critical data point.
“In Brittany’s case, they’ve looked really clean – almost brand new,” Rogers said.
Since nitro tires are designed to wrinkle dramatically at launch, absorbing torque before growing in diameter at speed, that’s impressive. The construction – particularly the carcass shape and internal reinforcement – has to withstand repeated and extreme deformation.
Goodyear’s current Top Fuel and Funny Car slick has been in place since 2016. Rogers, who joined the drag racing group in 2017 after time with Goodyear’s NASCAR program, said the company’s comfortable with the mold and carcass design that define the tire’s structural foundation.
Despite the incredible physics of these tires, accidents can happen. Top Fueler Shawn Reed experienced a horrific crash at last year’s Nationals near Seattle, one serious enough to put him on the sidelines for more than a month with broken ribs and a mangled finger. He would come back like a boss in September, winning an IHRA nitro race in Hebron, Ohio, to shake the dust off and again the following weekend at his NHRA Pro return in Reading, Penn.
A notable portion of the crash involved one of the tires on his rail losing integrity. Reed said after the race he didn’t blame Goodyear for the tire failure.
“We had a meeting with them and they found no reason to why that tire came apart and I’m OK with it,” he said. “There doesn’t have to be a reason. I think if you look too deep for a reason you just find someone to blame and you know what, I’m not a blamer. They’re building the best tires they can and NHRA is doing the best they can to keep the track clean.
“They check it all the time; they pull that FOD (foreign object damage) mat around and I mean they got 10 or 12 guys over the wall after every pass, looking at stuff. I can’t blame any one of us. It’s just a freak accident that happened and I’m OK with the call.”
Goodyear didn’t make any alterations to their tire after Reed’s accident, but if any adjustment were to be made, it would most likely involve the compound rather than the construction.
“We would just try to toughen up and firm up that compound a little bit,” Rogers said, noting that Goodyear’s compound specialists collaborate across racing divisions to evaluate potential changes.
Altering a compound involves adjusting blends of carbon black and other reinforcing agents that affect hardness, wear resistance, and heat tolerance. A tougher compound could slightly reduce peak speeds by limiting tire growth or traction characteristics, but Rogers emphasized that drivability is paramount.
“Our goal would be to have the same drivability with a little tougher compound,” he said. “But you don’t know until you get it on track and get feedback from the driver.”
That feedback is paired with detailed data analysis from onboard telemetry systems, allowing engineers to study wheel speed, tire growth, and traction performance down to fractions of a second.
Since NHRA shortened nitro racing from 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet in 2008, speeds have steadily climbed despite the reduced distance. While some in the sport periodically advocate for a return to the full quarter-mile, Rogers said Goodyear has not conducted in-depth research into what that would require from a tire standpoint.
“If we did, we’d have to study what those speeds would be and probably look at introducing a tougher compound,” he said.
For now, Goodyear’s concern level remains low. As long as 340-mph runs result in tires that “look great” at the finish line, teams won’t see drastic changes.
This story was originally published on March 6, 2026. 
The post Goodyear Ready for Nitro in 2026 first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
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