Goodyear Tire announces new Nascar Tire Program

AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 17, 2005 — Goodyear will start the 2006 racing
season with a new tire leasing program for NASCAR’s top three series and
racing’s first deployment of Radio Frequency Identification technology
(RFID) in the form of an embedded computer chip in the tires to help
manage the leased inventory.

The RFID technology will assist in the implementation of NASCAR’s new
controlled testing procedures, which were developed by the sanctioning
body to reduce private team testing next year in an effort to level the
playing field for all teams.

The new tire lease program will get its own test run this weekend at
Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Craftsman Truck Series race, according
to Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of race tire marketing.

“With RFID we will have the ability to ensure that every tire that comes
to the racetrack with us leaves the track with us,” Stucker said. “While
we will no longer sell tires to the teams for private testing, we will
continue to supply Goodyear tires for NASCAR-scheduled testing in much
the same way we do at race events.”

The RFID scanning equipment will quickly read the pertinent information
embedded in the sidewall of the tire. Stucker said that tire ID is the
first piece of data that will be available through the computer chip.
“We are exploring several other data options that will further the
technological capability of race tire manufacturing and performance,”
Stucker added.

Dedicated Goodyear specialists will be on site at all races with a
specially equipped transporter to run the program. “The program is a
major undertaking and investment for us in equipment, personnel and
warehousing capabilities,” Stucker said. “The effort also reaffirms our
continuing commitment to NASCAR and the overall quality of Nextel Cup,
Busch and Craftsman Truck series racing.”

Goodyear began exploring RFID technology in 1984 and in 1993 began the
first field trial with more than 3,000 tires. The Goodyear Racing
Division chose to launch that technology to help manage race tire
inventories for the 2006 NASCAR season.

The world’s largest tire company, Goodyear began its involvement with
motorsports more than 90 years ago. Since then, Goodyear tires have
dominated many forms of racing. Goodyear is the exclusive tire supplier
to NASCAR’s top three series and a leading supplier to NHRA and numerous
other racing organizations. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear
produces nearly one- half million race tires a year.