Toyo Tires® Renews Longtime Sponsorship with NASA
August 11, 2009 7:48 AM — The National Auto Sport Association announces it is renewing its longtime partnership with Toyo Tires; extending its contract for an additional three years beginning January 1, 2010. As a part of this extension, all NASA spec tire classes will be going back to the Toyo Proxes RA1 as the required tire. This will become effective January 1, 2010 with a three-weekend grace period to allow the use of the previously allowed R888 tires. “This move was made in response to customer input, and we hope the racers will be pleased by this announcement. The RA1 has become a favorite amongst many NASA racers and has proven itself for speed, consistency, and longevity,“ said NASA’s National Chairman Ryan Flaherty.


NASA Competition Racing has a wide variety of road racing classes designed to welcome both entry level and seasoned racers who wish to compete wheel to wheel. Toyo Tires’ Proxes® RA1™ is an R-compound, street legal competition radial and is the spec tire for several classes in this exciting program.

“NASA and Toyo Tires have enjoyed a successful relationship for 14 years and we look forward to adding another three years to that run,” said Jerry Kunzman NASA's Executive Director. “In our opinion Toyo has always had the best interest of their customers in mind so it's great to see the relationship continue in this manner.”

“Toyo Tires is proud to continue our sponsorship of NASA road racing,” said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. “Our Proxes RA1 has long been popular with amateur and professional racers and is a great fit with this exciting series.”

Great for vehicles ranging from sport compacts to European and American muscle machines, the Proxes RA1 is cost-effective by delivering excellent wear and winning consistency on the track. NASA classes using the Proxes RA1 include: American Iron, Camaro-Mustang Challenge, Factory Five Challenge, Honda Challenge, Spec 3/Spec e30 (BMW), Spec Focus, Spec Miata, and 944-spec.

To learn more about the many driving opportunities provided by NASA, whether racing or high-performance training, log on to nasaproracing.com. To learn more about the full line of Proxes tires from Toyo Tires, log on to toyotires.com. Toyo Tires manufactures and distributes a complete line of replacement tires for high performance cars, luxury vehicles, light trucks and SUVs as well as tires for commercial trucks, buses and off-road and construction applications.

Guys, just run the R888's down and go for the RA-1's next year. Heck I have been spending alot of time trying to fine the sweet spot with the R888 and now.. Well... Makes me think I should have just stuck with the RA-1's. Would have been easier.

Still have 2 new sets of R888 that a slated for Miller and the remainder of my fall season.

Good news is that this IS good for the class. The wear rate on the R888 was just not good enough for a low budget spec class.