Like almost every other major motorsports competition, NASCAR has also dealt with several scandals. Perhaps the most infamous one during the 1990s was the ‘Tiregate’ scandal. The whole situation brought national and global attention to the sport. The organizers had no choice but to conduct a thorough investigation about the matter as it involved the two best teams at the time — Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing (now RFK Racing).
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The whole debate sparked to life after the end of the 1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In the final caution of that race, the whole field came into the pits for four tires while HMS driver Jeff Gordon took two. Usually, a car on two new tires will always be slower than one with four in the long run. That day, however, the #24 led 67 laps after the pit stop and took the checkered flag. Roush Racing’s Mark Martin had taken four new tires and just couldn’t pass his rival. This left his team confused and flabbergasted.
Martin’s team owner, Jack Roush, received an anonymous package earlier that week with a message that said his rivals were using an illegal tire softener to make their tires have more grip. He did not immediately report it to NASCAR but after the New Hampshire race, Roush could not stay quiet any longer. He accused the #24 team of using this illegal substance and brought it to NASCAR’s attention. At this point, the organizers had no choice but to send Gordon and Martin’s tires for testing.
NASCAR History: 1998 – Tiregate
In 1998 Jeff Gordon and the 24 team was accused by Jack Roush for using illegal substances on the tires they brought to the track.
Back then NASCAR allowed teams to bring their own tires each week.
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The package that Roush received also stated that the tire softening compound was undetectable after a race. What followed was an ugly back-and-forth between Roush and crew chief of the #24 team, Ray Evernham. They got into a heated debate at New Hampshire with Evernham claiming it was just the air in the tires that made all the difference. They even took shots at each other during the press conference leading up to the next race at Darlington.
“It disgusts me that a grown man who is supposed to be intelligent isn’t paying attention. I think it’s a statement about how big his ego is. If somebody said the only reason you can beat them is to cheat, what would you think?” Evernham said of Roush. With a lot of attention on the sport, NASCAR had to get this investigation right.
Ahead of the Southern 500, the organizers seized the tire from both teams and after the first round of testing, they came back clean. However, they were sent to a more sophisticated round of testing which then-Cup Series Director Gary Nelson called a “DNA-type test on the tires.” NASCAR also decided to not give the team their tires until right before the race but it did not make a difference.
Martin suffered an engine failure and finished right at the back of the pack while Gordon once again took the checkered flag. Ahead of the next race in Richmond, NASCAR revealed that their investigation had come to an end and the #24 team’s tires came out clean. This closed the chapter of one of NASCAR’s most infamous situations that is still talked about even today.
