Race Star Wheels, manufacturers of high performance alloy drag-style wheels, has been named the Official Wheel of the Professional Drag Racers Association, PDRA officials announced today.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Race Star Wheels to the PDRA family as the Official Wheel of the PDRA,” said Will Smith, marketing director, PDRA. “Race Star Industries is the first wheel company to partner with the PDRA, and we’re grateful for their support of our 2019 season.”
“We’re really looking forward to working with the PDRA and its racers this year,” said Greg Bennett, national sales manager, Race Star Pro Series. “We really appreciate the fast doorslammer guys and we want to make sure they’re supported. I like everything about the PDRA and its family atmosphere. We’re excited about this partnership and supporting the PDRA as much as we’re sure they’ll support us.”
Race Star Industries manufactures a variety of wheels for street/strip applications and hardcore race cars, but of great interest to PDRA racers are Race Star’s new Pro Series forged wheels. The Pro Series line includes SFI 15.2-tested front runner wheels, SFI 15.1- and 15.3-tested rear wheels and accessories. A highlight of the line is an innovative one-piece configuration liner wheel.
“We’ve actually built a liner wheel like nobody’s ever built,” Bennett said. “It’s going to save on weight, but more importantly it’s a lot more structurally sound because of its design. We’re real proud to offer that new design because it’s the first of its kind.
“We built our product around what the racers have been asking for. This product has all the bells and whistles. Our 16×16 double beadlock has a bolt system, which makes it easy to change tires. There’s advantages that we’ve built into the wheel to make it more user friendly and functional. We’ve also added our race grip technology on our non-beadlock wheels to aid in reduction of tire-to-wheel slippage.
“The fusion welding and manufacturing processes allow for the most advanced production and quality control. Each wheel is laser measured and X-rayed to ensure the highest quality product for the racer. A visual inspection is just not enough when so much is riding on it.”
With the PDRA offering a variety of highly competitive, fast classes, Race Star similarly offers a range of options for sizes and wheel types.
“We also realized a need for an improved product for our friends running 15-inch wheels,” Bennett said. “We respect performance improvements these guys are making as well. They are going quicker and faster all the time. We felt a need to provide the same technology in a product for them as the 16-inch guys. Our one-piece configuration 15-inch wheels are the only ones on the market.”
Bennett and the Race Star design team will continue to listen to suggestions from racers to build on the racer-friendly aspects of the wheels.
“We’re catering to the racer,” Bennett said. “First off, we worked hard to reach an affordable price point. These products are built for the racers, basically by the racers. We’ve taken suggestions that I’ve received from racers over the years and applied them to these wheels. Who better to listen to than the people who actually use the product?”
The 2019 PDRA Tour will kick off at the PDRA East Coast Nationals presented by FuelTech, April 4-6 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C.
This story was originally published on January 21, 2019. 
