Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company:
Goodyear began business in the winter of 1898 in Akron, Ohio, making bicycle and carriage tires, horseshoe pads and poker chips. The 13 original employees earned 13 to 23 cents per hour, Today, more than 100,000 associates run manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries, supported by sales and marketing operations in almost every county around the world.
In 1999, Goodyear formed an alliance with Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., of Japan. that brought the Dunlop tire brand to its fold, returning Goodyear to Its position as the number one tire and rubber company worldwide.
Goodyear's heritage in racing started in 1901 with its first victory after Henry Ford put Goodyear rubber on his car sponsored by the Detroit Driving Club.
The company launched its first serious race tire development program in 1916 and cars equipped with Goodyear Cord Tires began to dominate at U.S. racing circuits.
By 1919 Goodyear tires were on the winning car in every major race that year, including the Indianapolis 500.
In 1957 Goodyear asked NASCAR driver Lee Petty to do a limited race tire test program in West Palm Beach, Florida.
By 1959 Goodyear ran, at Darlington and driver Jim Heed won a Goodyear tires.
In 1960 Goodyear won its first international sports car race with Maserati driver Stirling Moss at the Grand Prix of Cuba.
In 1964 Goodyear won the 24 Hours of LeMans with Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant in a GT Cobra.
The first overall international victory Goodyear recorded was at the 1965 24 Hours of LeMans. They also won their first Formula One race and their first Formula One World Championship title.
In 1987 Goodyear rolled into victory lane with A.J. Foyt, the company's first lndy 500 win since its re-emergence to racing in 1958.
In 1994 Goodyear reached two important milestones in racing: the 300th victory in Formula One at Barcelona, Spain, and the 300th consecutive victory in Indy Car at Vancouver, B.C.
Goodyear's 1,000th Winston Cup victory was achieved in April of 1995 when Jeff Gordon won the Bristol race.