Goodyear, Martel win Comp Eliminator

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Martel wins Comp Eliminator at E-town; 16th national victory

 ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. (June 7, 2015) – Arnie Martel says winning doesn’t ever get old. Martel would know. His victory in Competition Eliminator at the Toyota NHRA Summer Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park was Martel’s 16th national victory. Martel, of Tewksbury, Mass., beat Thomas Miller, of Nottingham, Pa., Sunday in an all-Goodyear final round. Miller was making his first appearance in the final round of a national event. “I’m getting old myself,” Martel joked. “I’ve got a big list of wins to do and it’s going pretty good. I’m going for the championship this year. I’m on a roll and hopefully I can put that behind me.” Martel’s team has won at least once in the last eight events the team has entered, counting NHRA national events and others. Every win, which came in two different race cars, has come on Goodyear’s D2051 rear tire. The D2051 measures 33 inches tall and 17 inches across the tread. It mounts on a 15-inch rim and the construction includes Goodyear’s D4A tread compound.Martel said his car winning car at Englishtown was a 2015 Camaro with about 980 horsepower. The car weighs about 2,100 pounds, he said. The weather fluctuated from cloudy, wet and cool to warm and sunny over the course of the four-day event. But Martel said the D2051 worked well in all conditions. “The tire performed perfectly,” Martel said with a smile. “The only thing we do is adjust the air pressure. That’s all we had to do. That Goodyear tire is just phenomenal. It’s the way to go.” Goodyear employs about 69,000 people at manufacturing plants and facilities in 22 nations. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is among the largest tiremakers in the world and is the worldwide leader in race tire innovation.