Squealing tires encouraged on Bridgestone test drive

When Kenneth Hart got behind the wheel of a high-performance BMW, he tried to “push it to its limit,” but the car wasn’t the only thing Hart was testing.

“It’s a lot of fun, but you’ve got to keep in mind what you’re testing it for,” Hart said. “You have to realize that what we’re testing really affects the drive.”

While accelerating way past the speed limit, Hart was testing something below the luxury car’s engine and frame — its tires.

Hart, the manager of Wentworth Tire in Worth, was part of a group of store owners and managers invited to test drive Bridgestone’s latest tires on a course set up recently at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights.

Like Hart, I got the chance to test drive the BMW as part of my summer internship here at the Daily Herald. Although it’s exhilarating to push Bridgestone’s latest tires as hard as they can go, zipping around tight corners in different simulated weather conditions, the course is more of an extreme example of what the tires can do when a driver needs to make a tough turn or go up against bad weather.

While some drivers flew around corners, knocking over cones, others carefully drifted through the course, showing the precision capability Bridgestone’s different tire models offer motorists and retailers.

“Being able to test the new products is great,” Hart said “You really get to know what you’re selling to people.”

The event, which Bridgestone puts on across the Midwest, typically stops by the Chicago area once every summer, said Tim Netzel of Bridgestone product promotions. This was the first time Bridgestone hosted the event at Arlington Park.

“We’re trying to do anything that we can to help,” Netzel said. “What better way to test the tires out.”

Netzel, who is originally from Chicago, travels back to host the event for Bridgestone every summer.

While this wasn’t Hart’s first time on the course, it was the first Bridgestone test for Phillip Long, who works at a local Tire Tracks store. Long was excited to burn a little rubber.

“It’s awesome,” Long said. “You get to actually do it and feel what the tires are like, rather than just listening to what (people say) they’re like.”

Both Long and Hart plan to participate in the event again next summer.

“I’ve done it many times but it’s still really nice,” Hart said. “You really get an idea of how much tires really do matter.”