M&H Tire /Marvin Rifchin passes

[Greg Barsamian]

Marvin Rifchin, founder of M&H Tires and a man whom Don Prudhomme described as the “Godfather of drag racing slicks,” died June 3. He was 94.

Rifchin got into racing after World War II as the owner of midget cars and later became involved with stock cars. Frustrated with the difficulty in getting good racing tires, he formed M&H Tires.

Intitially, Rifchin was better known for producing circle-track slicks, but after legendary Top Fuel racer "Big Daddy" Don Garlits tried a set of Rifchin's tires at a race in South Carolina and won Top Eliminator, the die was cast.

“I knew about this man [Rifchin] who was into stock car races,” said Garlits before Rifchin's 2003 induction into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 2003. “He said that I needed a tire that’s not recapped. Marv had these tires that had the same mold but softer rubber. They were narrow, about 6 1/2 inches wide, but he said that wouldn’t matter. I didn’t know that much about tires back then and listened to what he had to say.”

Soon after, M&H entered the business of manufacturing tires for drag racing and was among the first to manufacturer tires specifically for the sport.


Bob Brown photos
“We made tires for all types of race cars,” said Rifchin, “but my primary interest was in drag racing. That was the most fascinating part of my life. That became my primary interest because we had a lot of fun doing it.”

When Goodyear entered the drag racing tire market in 1964 Rifchin found the competition stimulating and a lot of fun, and the company continued to thrive.

“I think the greatest accomplishment that any of us could have were the tire wars that we went though with Goodyear,” said Rifchin.“The competition lead to us being instrumental in securing some of the most fantastic advances that have taken place in mechanical and scientific business.”

Rifchin's generosity and support was known to all who met him, even if you ran the competition's tires.

Said former Top Fuel and Funny Car racer Jim Nicoll, "I can't think of any one man that helped me more than Marv. I can't count the times I was running his tires and Goodyear or Firestone had a tire working better that weekend then look up and here came Marv rolling a set of competing tires. That's just the way he was. What a great man."

Rifchin himself often admitted , “In the early days, everybody was so broke, I’d have to give ‘em a tire every now and then to keep ‘em going. You know, I worked with a lot of fellows in racing, and I never found a bad one."

He is survived by a daughter Debbie, her husband Bill and two grandchildren. Services will be held Friday at the Sharon Memorial Park in Sharon, Mass.

[Bob Don]

I am sorry to hear of Marv's passing. I did an article on him for Super Stock and Drag Illustrated in the late 80's. He was a really nice guy and he definitely knew his ***** about tires! My condolences to his family. Thanks for posting, Greg.

[Dave Casey]

In the late 40's and early 50's my dad Gordon raced stock cars and often used Marvin's tires. The best story related was a "new car race" at Thompson speedway in connecticut that my dad entered. Dad worked at a ford dealership, so they got a 40 something ford sedan and set it up for the race. Modifications were very limited, as the cars were to be very stock, a little shim here or there and get it to corner the best you could. Enter Marvin--- got some tires that were recapped and off to the race. Dad's car did not have as much power as some, but it cornered great and the tires did not blow out. He qualified in the front and won the race. Thank You Marvin.

I am thankful to have met Marvin when I went to Watertown(MA) to purchase a set of tires for my stocker. Had an enjoyable short talk with him. Pioneers in our sport are rare, especially from Massachusetts. Again , thank you Marvin.

Dave