A Perfect Formula For Fans of NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing
15 June 2000
1 Track, 1 Weekend, 2 Events: A Perfect Formula For Fans of NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 15 It'll be deja vu all over again
... and again ... this weekend as the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series
and the Federal-Mogul Allstars Competition come to central Ohio's National
Trail Raceway in conjunction with the Pontiac Excitement Nationals.
That's right, two "sportsman" drag racing championships wrapped within one
of the most popular stops on the NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series tour.
"This is easily one of the biggest weekends of the year for sportsman drag
racers from coast to coast," said Federal-Mogul Motorsports Marketing Manager
Shelley Pepmeier. "We'll have hundreds of cars from across the Midwest for
the Pontiac Excitement Nationals, plus 64 of North America's finest NHRA
Federal-Mogul category drivers for the final rounds of the year-long Federal-
Mogul Allstars Competition. There's going to be an unbelievable amount of
racing -- and prize money -- to been seen over the next four days."
The Pontiac Excitement Nationals is the 11th of 23 national-event stops on
the 2000 NHRA Winston and Federal-Mogul Drag Racing series schedules. Series
competition begins with Thursday and Friday qualifying. Saturday morning
action is set aside to allow the NHRA Federal-Mogul Allstars -- comprised of
category points leaders and defending champions from NHRA's seven geographical
divisions -- to fight it out for more than $100,000 in cash.
The Federal-Mogul Allstars, launched in 1985, rewards racers for their
success in intradivisional competition. Each year, Federal-Mogul invites the
seven points leaders from each NHRA region to compete with the previous year's
class champions for spots on the annual Federal-Mogul Allstars Team.
"The program began as a way to enhance competition on the local level, but
it's become a major national attraction with the final eliminations at
National Trail," Pepmeier said. "Above all, it's an opportunity for each NHRA
division to prove that its local racers are the best in the world."
Once the Allstars Finals are completed, it's back to the weekend's
Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series event, where racers in seven of the eight
NHRA categories (Super Street will not race) will vie for class honors and
coveted national championship points.
Established in 1997, the Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series covers all
divisional and national competition within the eight NHRA sportsman
categories: Federal-Mogul Dragster, Federal-Mogul Funny Car, Competition
Eliminator, Super Stock, Super Comp, Stock, Super Gas and Super Street.
Racers compete for more than $400,000 in year-end championship bonuses.
"The Federal-Mogul Series was established at a time when sportsman racing
was ready to step up in terms of prestige and fan involvement," Pepmeier said.
"Federal-Mogul was in a similar position; we had assembled many of the best-
known brands and product lines in the automotive industry and were looking to
generate greater awareness of our engineering and manufacturing leadership."
By all accounts, both parties are stronger as a result of the Federal-
Mogul program. Sportsman competitors have enjoyed significantly larger prize
purses, increased television exposure and greater print media coverage. And
Federal-Mogul, which has tied its racing involvement to its best-known engine
brands and product lines -- Champion(R) spark plugs, Fel-Pro(R) gaskets and
Sealed Power(R) engine parts -- has won the hearts of the more than 30,000
sportsman competitors, many of whom are professional technicians and engine
builders by trade.
Headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, Federal-Mogul Corporation
is an automotive parts manufacturer providing innovative solutions
and systems to global customers in the automotive, small engine, heavy-duty
and industrial markets. The company was founded in 1899. Visit the company's
Web site at http://www.federal-mogul.com for more information.