Welcome back, F45.
Throughout the history of the zMAX CARS Tour and Late Model Stock racing in general, the primary tire of choice has been Hoosier’s F45 tire. It’s a softer tire that requires finesse from the drivers throughout the event to conserve fresh rubber for the final laps.
CARS Tour officials took an unprecedented turn in 2024, moving away from the F45 and towards Hoosier’s new ST2 tire – a harder tire made to withstand the abrasive surfaces of America’s short tracks and provide more flag-to-flag action.
There’s no denying that the tire has produced great racing in the CARS Tour this season, as can be seen with the finishes at Langley Speedway, Caraway Speedway and Ace Speedway. The problem is that teams haven’t always been on a level playing field.
For whatever reason, entrants have continuously received numerous tire codes throughout each race weekend. In the worst examples, different tire codes have resulted in time gaps upwards of one second per lap, resulting in many drivers randomly having poor runs throughout the season.
The issue came to a head at Wake County Speedway back on August 24, when six different tire codes were dished out to a field of just 19 Late Model Stock cars. Teams came together afterward and decided it was time for a change. There were rumblings of possible postponements of last week’s event at Florence Motor Speedway if the issue wasn’t resolved.
Ultimately the decision was made to return to old faithful for Florence. The F45s were put back in use – a change that was welcomed throughout the garage.
One of the loudest voices of support was Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen, an avid supporter of the F45. Queen has been known for his success on high-tire-wear tracks during his time in the series. He finished second at Florence.
“It’s cool to be back on the 45s,” Queen said. “Nobody wrecked each other, we had enough side bite to actually race with without sliding into each other. We’re sliding because tires are wore out, but you could race hard. Nobody turned anybody. … (The tires are) just putting it back in the drivers hands, we’re not on blocks (anymore).”
Backing Queen’s opinion was championship rival Connor Hall, who believes most drivers who grew up on the F45 prefer it over the newer alternative. Hall finished fourth on the night and maintained the championship lead.