---

Federal-Mogul's ANCO Wiper Blades Make Their Mark in NASCAR Qualifying

26 August 1999

Federal-Mogul's ANCO Wiper Blades Make Their Mark in NASCAR Qualifying

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 25 -- Rain fell during the only
qualifying session for the NASCAR Winston Cup event at New York's Watkins Glen
International road course last week.  For 35 of the 37 events in the Winston
Cup Series, the steady rainfall would have led to a postponement of the
scheduled start; at Watkins Glen, it simply sent crew members scurrying for
their latest piece of advanced racing technology: Federal-Mogul's
ANCO(R) wiper blade.
    With NASCAR's 1998 ruling that road course events would be run "rain or
shine," the automotive wiper blade suddenly became a critical consideration
for teams competing for starting positions at Watkins Glen and California's
Sears Point Raceway.  While every team had conducted extensive testing with
special rain tires, few -- if any -- were prepared to add wiper blades to
their racing setups.
    "When we first sat down with teams after the NASCAR decision, they had no
idea how they were going to make a wiper blade setup work," said Federal-Mogul
NASCAR Coordinator Jon Arterburn.  "We literally had to start from scratch to
incorporate a system into every car."
    That system consisted of standard automotive technology, including
Federal-Mogul ANCO(R) wiper motors, arms and blades.  The only significant
difference between the NASCAR configuration and those found on conventional
passenger cars is the racing teams' use of a single wiper blade.
    The vast majority of teams competing at Watkins Glen utilized a complete
Federal-Mogul wiper system, including ANCO(R) AeroVantage wiper blades -- the
same blades available through retailers and auto parts stores throughout North
America.
    "The AeroVantage is ideally suited for racing because it has an extremely
low profile and aerodynamic styling," said Joe Stephan, director of visibility
products for Federal-Mogul.  "It's a premium product that delivers clean, dry,
streak-free windshields for millions of consumers, and it did the same for the
teams qualifying at Watkins Glen."
    The precipitation that hit New York's southern tier during race week had
little impact on qualifying times, with Rusty Wallace claiming the pole
position at 121.234 miles per hour.  The second qualifying session was
canceled due to fog.  The winner of the Sunday Frontier at The Glen race was
Jeff Gordon.
    "It didn't rain on Sunday, but wiper blades had a tremendous impact on the
outcome, given teams' ability to qualify in wet conditions on Friday, and the
impressive qualifying times," Arterburn said.  "The use of rain tires and
wiper blades at NASCAR road course events looks like a real winner."
    Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Federal-Mogul is an automotive
parts manufacturer providing innovative solutions and systems to global
customers in the automotive, light truck, heavy-duty, railroad, farm and
industrial markets.  The company was founded in 1899.  Visit the company's web
site at http://www.federal-mogul.com for more information.