Goodyear Goes Patriotic

Citizens of the US are celebrating their 4th of July holiday on, um, July 4, and for some this means hoisting the Stars and Stripes and belting out a few bars of the Star Spangled Banner. Other Americans will be showing their patriotism in tyre form. Goodyear Tire & Rubber, exclusive tyre supplier to the quintessentially American NASCAR race series, intends to ‘transform’ all Goodyear Racing Eagle tyres for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races over the July 4th holiday weekend.

The new design, featuring the customary red, white and blue colour scheme will bear the inscription “Support Our Troops” on the sidewall. These words, states Goodyear, are intended to say ‘thank you’ to the service men and women of the United States Armed Forces, and also mark the launch of the Goodyear Support Our Troops programme. The tyre maker will help jump-start this new support and fundraising effort with a US$20,000 donation to a leading military support programme. The Goodyear Support Our Troops programme will also provide US consumers a variety of ways to show their support for nation’s military and will encourage everyone to participate in a series of fund-raising initiatives to benefit members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. The rebranded Goodyear Support Our Troops tyres will raise awareness for the support effort and will also serve as the first step in the fund-raising campaign, as Goodyear will auction the special logo-bearing, driver-autographed tyres used in the Coke Zero 400 race held on July 3. All funds raised will be donated to the non-profit organisation ‘Support Our Troops’.

“For well over 100 years, Goodyear has been supplying and supporting the US military, and has been a part of NASCAR’s great history for more than 56 years. Now, we’re making this historic change to honour them both,” said Kris Kienzl, Goodyear’s NASCAR marketing manager. “We are showing our support for the uniformed men and women who protect us and our families with a special message on the premier spot on our race tyres. This programme also waves the green flag on our fundraising and support campaign.”

“We are very proud to have an iconic American company like Goodyear support us in our efforts to positively impact the lives of our country’s service men and women and their families,” said Martin C. Boire, executive director of Support Our Troops. “We are happy that NASCAR fans – some of the most patriotic and dedicated fans in the world – will have another great way to show their support through this programme.”