Drag Illustrated Issue 114, October 2016 | Page 105

PHOTOS: JOHN FORE III, DRAG ILLUSTRATED ARCHIVES

TOMMY KUNDRIK
changer.
He went back to the facility, made 100 tires,
headed to Donald Long’s “Lights Out IV” a month
later at South Georgia Motorsports Park and
found out immediately about how much word
had spread.
“We made 100 tires and that’s all you could
make in the time we had,” Kundrik said. “The way
I had it structured was, ‘Hey guys, we have 100
of these things. Be in line at 9 a.m. on Thursday
and we’ll sell them until we’re sold out.’ We sold
every tire. There was literally a line at the tire
trailer with 100 guys in it. It was crazy. I’ve never
seen anything like it.”
It also made every single customer that day
overjoyed with what they received. Kundrik and
his team didn’t need any slick marketing slogan
at the race and following what transpired during
the event, one wasn’t necessary afterwards, either.
“We released it at Donald’s race and it set every
record, first race,” Kundrik said. “It was everything you could have ever wanted. You set every
record, you took the market
over completely, everybody’s
happy and you sold every tire
you had. It was unbelievable.”
Kundrik was still waiting
to get pinched when it came
down to one of the biggest
decisions of his career. In
retrospect, it seemed like a
no-brainer, but from a single
test session to full-on production in a month or two seemed
almost too good to be true.
The performance of the tire at
Long’s race was further backing
of the tire’s performance and capability, but Kundrik, who was
in charge of the project at the
time, often wondered if he was
being too ambitious to release
the tire that quickly.
It didn’t take long for that trepidation to turn
into extreme satisfaction.
“I couldn’t sleep for like two days, my stomach
was turning, because it’s a lot of money to say this
is the right tire,” Kundrik said. “We had one test
on it. In the seven years that I had been there,
we tested stuff for half a year before we released
it. You just keep second-guessing yourself, but
finally you say it’s good enough. 
“[Kundrik’s boss] asked me how many we were
going to sell and I said 1,200 because all I did
was add up all the X275 cars in the country. Well,
no. No, we sold like four times that the first year
because everybody wanted it. It fits on everything.
It’s 28 inches tall, 10 and ½ inches wide. It’s our
best-selling tire.” 
It’s a wild tale that will live on forever and, for
Kundrik, it’s one of the vast number of reasons he
loves what he’s doing. After working at American
Racing Wheels, Kundrik went to Mickey Thompson in 2006 and has continued to live his dream
for the past decade. He’s a staple at races and
one of the more beloved figures at them, in part

October 2016

WINNING
PERSONALITY

Mickey Thompson’s Tommy Kundrik
has become a huge racer favorite
over the years, developing close-knit
relationships with hundreds of drivers
among a variety of classes. Kundrik
and his team travel to a variety of
events throughout the year, and
that extreme dedication doesn’t go
unnoticed among drivers and teams.

because of a giving, likeable personality that has
forged friendships with everyone he comes across.
“The relationships, that’s the best part of the job
for me, making those friendships along the way,”
Kundrik said. “I’ve raced for a long time and you
know what everybody goes through. I would do
anything for these guys out there and so will my
guys. I’m doing the job that I love and not many
people get to do what they love. That’s the thing
that means the most to me. 
“It’s like family. There’s so many good guys out
there and I’ve made a ton of good friends. This

means everything to me and I couldn’t see myself
doing anything else. I think as long as you’re fair
in this business you’ll go a long way.” 
Kundrik continues to be impressed with the
growth of drag radial racing, which continues to
boom in popularity. The market has been just as
explosive and Kundrik and Mickey Thompson
have had a direct impact on that with their drag
radial tire. Seeing drag radial cars go 3.70s at well
over 200 mph is now the norm, in part because of
the modern marvel Kundrik and his team created.
“It blows my mind every time I see someone

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