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.
“I like the 45,” Hall said. “I would say most of the older Late Model Stock car guys would like the 45 just because it’s what we grew up racing on, just kind of developed our craft. I’m a big fan, I just told Hoosier A+.”
This sentiment was once again echoed series co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made one of his occasional short track starts in Florence. Earnhardt has been vocal and influential in the short track world since his return to Late Model Stock racing in 2022. He expressed his love for the tire after a top-10 run.
“I like the 45 because it gives me a shot to try and be smart about how I drive the car and protect the tire,” Earnhardt said. “So that at the end of 80 laps, I might have a better grip on the racetrack and better tire to be able to work forward. And at other tracks the 45 actually is a tire that can run really hard throughout the entire race, so you don’t drive that tire the same way at Florence like you might at Tri-County or somewhere else, or South Boston.
“So it’s really track dependent. And we’ve all lived on this 45 forever, so we’re very comfortable and confident in that tire. But we were trying to help (Hoosier) move forward in a new direction and evolve to a bit of a new platform tire-wise, and there’s still some work to do.
“I like tires that wear out, I like tires you’ve got to be smart with, I like tires you can’t drive like a lunatic on, so the 45 is a good fit for me. If we were coming here to race tomorrow, I’d rather run the 45 but that’s just my preference.”
The change back to the 45s has been a welcomed one. It just comes at an unfortunate time in the middle of an intense championship battle. The CARS Tour was stuck in a no-win situation – either let the title play out on wishy-washy tires that randomly left competitors at an unfair advantage, or change the entire playing field midseason.
In the end, the right choice was made to put the field on a level playing field. The traditional F45 is back for now and the title contenders are happy – even if this won’t be the last we hear of Late Model Stock racing’s tire drama.
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.