SEMA sights: Mickey sticks, Toyo hits big with Dodgers

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas sun was dispersed by a large cloud as the roar of a heavily modified vehicle drowned out any other sound.

"I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning," I said in my best Robert Duvall in "Apocalypse Now" impersonation.

If there was an official fragrance of the SEMA Show, it would be burning rubber. And while off-putting, it was a nice welcome from the usual scent of cannabis in the Vegas breeze.

Tire Business covers the show and AAPEX in full force each November — we are talking 20,000 steps-a-day kind of coverage.

There are few other opportunities to meet and talk with so many people in the industry all in one place. Plus, there's a lot of cool stuff on display.

It's a full-on education that will feed tirebusiness.com and our print editions into the new year.

This column first appeared in the Dec. 2 edition of Tire Business.

Here's some interesting tidbits I noted during the show.

Mickey sticking

It was a welcome sign to see tire maker Mickey Thompson at its usual spot outside of the convention center's south hall. I stopped by the booth for a visit the morning SEMA started. About 50 feet away, Nitro Circus stunt drivers were doing massive tricks on dirt bikes high in the sky.

I was curious what sort of representation the Goodyear-owned brand would have this year, seeing as Goodyear doesn't exhibit at the event (aside from Kelsey Tire's vintage Goodyear tire booth). Goodyear brand Cooper, which usually occupies the front-and-center large spot in the south hall, was gone.

Mickey Thompson, of course, is built for a show such as SEMA, where "extreme" is a starting point for design. For example, the brand's big announcement at the show — aside from some very cool wheels — was the release of the 42-inch Baja Boss X, aka the "sticky Mickey," aka in no way street legal. These are the tires you buy to drag race straight up a mountainside.

It seems like the brand isn't going anywhere from the show. At SEMA, exhibitor space is based on seniority — the longer you've been there, the better your spot. While Goodyear did pull Cooper from the south hall, it maintained its seniority by setting up a Mickey Thompson drag racing booth in the busy central hall.

On a side note, TB Editor Don Detore and I got to sit down with new Goodyear CEO Mark Stewart at the show. He told us that the company was putting a focus on promoting the Cooper brand better nationally, which has maintained a relatively low profile since Goodyear bought the company.

Stewart said Goodyear understands how much reverence there is for the brand within the tire community.

On cue, when I went to watch football the weekend after SEMA, I saw a brand new Cooper tire commercial.

RIP Uncle Cooper?

Toyo hits homer

The Toyo Treadpass is a destination to seek out at SEMA Show. Located in the way, way back of the show, Treadpass occupies an outdoor space between the back of the central and south halls.

The Toyo Treadpass debuted 27 custom vehicles, each crazier and more impressive than the next. Toyo makes pins of each vehicle to hand out at the show. The lines for each pin was packed with hundreds of people. Many who got a pin would immediately get back in line for the next pin release later in the day. 

Toyo unveiled the Proxes Sport 2 at the show. But Toyo also noted a recent marketing win.

Toyo Tire USA is based near Los Angeles and full of L.A. Dodger fans. And thanks to the Dodgers' acquisition of superstar Shohei Ohtani, Toyo headquarters in Japan also became big fans.

Toyo made a marketing deal with the Dodgers for the season, allowing Toyo to host customers from around the world to see arguably the best baseball team and its best player at Dodger Stadium.

"It was already a great deal, with a organization in the Dodgers that treated us really well," Toyo USA's Tim Chaney said.

Then the Dodgers won the World Series.

And Toyo just happened to have a starring role in a huge moment.

In the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Yankees. In a now iconic moment, Freeman paused with his bat raised high in the air to watch his game winner land. And wouldn't you know it, in that moment a Toyo Tire ad was displayed along the digital banners behind Freeman. If you saw the moment, the replay or the photos, you probably saw Toyo.

You can't plan that sort of viral advertising moment.

"And that was bonus signage, the Dodgers gave us," Chaney laughed as he retold the story.

What a hit indeed.

@dodgers A view of Freddie's walk-off grand slam from the dugout. #worldseries #dodgers #sports #losangeles #wow ♬ original sound - Los Angeles Dodgers