It began in the early 1950’s when Bob Newton, along with his supportive wife Joyce, began a successful racing career on the small asphalt tracks of northern Indiana. Bob, like many of his fellow drivers, was not satisfied with driving on street tires with their limited sizing options and hard tread compounds. It was during these early days that Bob had a vision to produce his own tires specifically designed for racing.  

In 1957, Bob and Joyce decided to begin producing their own race tires by re-treading street tires with softer compounds. They began their business in an old abandoned horse barn in South Bend, Indiana, selling their tires to local racers. The Hoosier name was chosen for their company to reflect the origin of Bob’s racing roots on the short tracks of the Midwest. The purple color that embodies the Hoosier Tire brand today came from the color of Bob’s first race car.

In 1988 Hoosier Tire tackled a huge milestone entering the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (currently Monster Energy). In the first year, Hoosier went on to capture nine victories while getting their marquee win at the Daytona 500 in 1989.