NASCAR has made it a habit recently of waiting until the eleventh hour to finalize major sponsor and supplier deals. Is the Goodyear deal another example?

In 2016, NASCAR fans and onlookers were waiting and waiting for a deal to be announced to replace Sprint as the title sponsor of the Cup Series. Fast forward to 2017, and many are waiting once again as the stock car racing sanctioning body slowly moves towards a deal on the supply of tires for 2018 and beyond.

Goodyear has been NASCAR’s sole tire supplier for decades, while also having formerly provided tires to IndyCar and Formula One. But could the days of seeing the blimp above stock car races be numbered? Already knocking on the door of August without a deal for the 2018 season is concerning for some.

There is also recent developments with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to consider. Since their last negotiation with NASCAR officials, the tire manufacturer has picked up a number of sponsorship deals outside of racing. Most notable among these are naming rights to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and a patch coming to the jerseys of the Cleveland Cavaliers starting in the fall. Perhaps Goodyear is seeing that ball and stick sports may help lure in more new customers than motorsports.

Now, there is no confirmation or discussions as of yet of Goodyear exiting the sport. However, should they exit the racing scene in NASCAR, who will fill that void? Michelin, Pirelli, Firestone, Bridgestone, Yokohama and Toyo all reportedly are not interested in filling that role for the series, with many of them having commitments to sports car racing and open-wheel racing. But one tire supplier may be up to the task.

Continental Tire has not shied away from trying to get their name and brands out there in recent years. They are the exclusive provider of tires to three of the classes in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. They also bought Hoosier Tire, who formerly supplied tires to NASCAR, two years ago and rebranded their ARCA tires under the General Tire name. There were also reports of their interest in replacing Firestone as IndyCar’s rubber of choice back in the Randy Bernard days. It would surprise no one to see Continental make a play for NASCAR, if not now, then in the future.

Do you think Goodyear will be back as NASCAR’s sole tire supplier in 2018 and beyond, or will race fans see a different name on the rubber for the next few years? Comment with your thoughts below, and stay tuned for the latest news and rumors from Beyond The Flag.