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Gateway Dirt Nationals Promoter Cody Sommer Provides More Details On Why He Changed The Tire Rules

November 21, 2025  ·
  John Trent

Gateway Dirt Nationals promote Cody Sommer shared more details on why he changed the event’s tire rule.

Back in August Sommer and the Gateway Dirt Nationals announced it would no longer be requiring competitors to race with Hoosier tires, but would allow them to use American Racer tires as well. They announced, “For the first time ever, the Gateway Dirt Nationals will be allowing American Racer Tires to compete in both the SLM and OWM divisions. Event management has determined it is in the best interest of competitors to have an alternative, more affordable tire option. As always, Hoosier tires will be permitted as well.”

“The event will be conducting a private on track tire test later this fall which will properly compare both brands and determine if any additional rule changes are necessary,” they concluded.

Specifically for the Super Late Models, competitors can use a Hoosier NLMT2, AR 44, AR 48, and AR PRO2 on the left front, left rear, and right front. On the right rear they can use a Hoosier NLMT3, AR 56, and AR PRO3.

For the open wheel modifieds they can use Hoosier M3OS or American Racer – Hard.

Sommer elaborated on why the change was made, “I felt like it was time to make a change. This sport should not be driven by money and politics. Our industry has multiple chassis, multiple shock brands, multiple engine builders, multiple race fuels… we should also have multiple tire choices.”

In an appearance on The Dirt Parlor he shared even more details on why he made this change, ” Just ’cause a certain group of people want you to feel a certain way, I look at the greater majority. Well, the voice had gotten loud enough. And I just learned that our event, The Dome and Gateway Dirt, has grown to a magnitude that our voice is pretty loud. So, I’m like, you know what? We’re going to use it. We’re going to use that voice.”

“I don’t know if it’ll change anything in the sport. Probably won’t. Maybe it will. I don’t know,” he continued. “But I know that it sent a message to a lot of people that were maybe scared to make that choice. But I also didn’t just say, ‘Let’s do this.’ I said, “Let’s do it the right way. Let’s go tire test, evaluate it. Let’s make sure it’s a competitive comparison.’ And I’m a big fan of competition. I just am.”

He elaborated, “There’s AutoZone and there’s O’Reilly. There’s Walmart and there’s Target. There’s Burger King and there’s McDonald’s. There’s Longhorn and there’s Rocket. There’s Penske, there’s Bilstein, you name it. There should be two tire players in the game. And I’m sorry, but if you’re a series or a sanctioning body listening to this, think about everything I just said and why you are not letting in the other. Because if it’s just about money, I’m sorry, you’re wrong. They’re willing to pay. They are.

From there he used Dirt Parlor co-host Gordy Gundaker as an example, “And what happens is not only do they put more money into the sport. … Now, Gordy has a choice. Now, he can talk to this side and say, ‘What can you do for me?’ Then he can talk to this side and say, ‘What can you do for me?’ And it helps everybody negotiate their own deals and prices comes down because of that. Maybe not the retail price. It’s probably going to stay the same, but the price you buy it for, I’ll bet you comes down because now they’re competing. They don’t want to give away business. They want to make sure Gordy Gundaker’s on Hoosier tires when he runs Tri City or when he runs the Summer Nationals race. Well, American Racer wants Gordy Gundaker on their tires too. So what are they going to do for him? It’s just the way the sport should be because we should not have a monopoly.”

“If we all had to buy the same engine, you realize they’d be $80,000,” he continued. “They’re already not cheap. I’m just saying [if] we all had to buy the same engine, they’d be $80,000. It just shouldn’t be that way. It’s sad it came to that. I have nothing against Hoosier. They’ve been great to me. This was not a decision based on that. And they respected my decision. It was a decision with the greater majority of the sport and of the race teams in mind. And I think it was a good decision.”

NEXT: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Announces 2026 Schedule

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Author: John Trent