World's Finest Sportsman Drag Racers Head to Reading, Pa. For Federal-Mogul Series Event

14 September 2000
World's Finest Sportsman Drag Racers Head to Reading, Pa. For Federal-Mogul Series Event
    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sept. 14 They'll probably be tired, and
more than a few will be hungry for their first national-event win of the 2000
season, as hundreds of NHRA Federal-Mogul drag racing competitors invade
Reading, Pa., today for the 16th annual NHRA Keystone Nationals at Maple Grove
Raceway.
    First, the "tired" part -- racers lost the much-anticipated week off
following Labor Day weekend's U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis due to the
rescheduled Matco Tools Spring Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J.  That
event, rained out in May, took racers back to New Jersey last Friday and
Saturday.
    "I'm sure a lot of the drivers in the running for national titles were
hoping to regroup after five days of racing at the U.S. Nationals, but they'll
be back in full force this weekend," said Kent Chalfant, drag racing
coordinator for series title sponsor Federal-Mogul Corporation .
    The Keystone Nationals is the 19th of 24 national-event stops in the 2000
NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series.  The series, established in 1997,
covers all national- and divisional-event competition within NHRA's eight
largest racing categories -- Federal-Mogul Dragster, Federal-Mogul Funny Car,
Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Super Comp, Stock, Super Gas and Super
Street.  More than 36,000 racers are registered within the NHRA Federal-Mogul
sportsman categories.
    Of those 36,000, 500 or more are expected to test the quarter-mile this
weekend at Maple Grove.  The event promises heated competition in every
category as drivers battle for the few remaining national-event points in the
2000 schedule.
    Of particular interest will be the Federal-Mogul Funny Car category, where
three-time defending national champion Frank Manzo will hope to stretch his
approximately 80-point lead over Pat Austin and 111-point margin over
archrival and 1996 national champion Tony Bartone.  Manzo will have the fans
on his side -- Kendall Motor Oil, his primary sponsor, is based in eastern
Pennsylvania.
    Four other Federal-Mogul categories -- Comp, Super Comp, Super Stock and
Super Gas have several drivers well within reach of the points leaders, while
the race in the Federal-Mogul Dragster category appears to be alive again
after a long period of domination by Rick Santos.  Santos, who has beaten
virtually everyone in his path while winning the last three national points
titles, tripped in the semis in Indy, allowing rival Jay Meyer to climb within
125 points.
    "It's still very much Rick's to lose, and he's got a great program from
top to bottom," Chalfant said.  "But Jay Meyer has really stepped up this
year."
    Federal-Mogul itself has stepped up in 2000.  The company -- which
manufactures and markets such automotive products as Sealed Power(R) engine
parts, Champion(R) spark plugs and Fel-Pro(R) gaskets -- announced in June
that it had extended its series sponsorship through 2003 and raised
championship bonus packages nearly 50 percent.
    Federal-Mogul also introduced a Sealed Power low-qualifier award that will
pay out more than $172,000 in prize money each year, beginning in 2001.
    The most recent news from Federal-Mogul came at the U.S. Nationals, where
the company's vice president of strategic planning and marketing announced
that the Sealed Power brand had become an official brand of NHRA competition.
"These racers and fans are our customers -- thousands of them build and repair
engines for a living.  That's why Sealed Power and NHRA are a perfect fit,"
said Federal-Mogul's Jay Burkhart.
    "We're committed to supporting the key engine brands that have established
Federal-Mogul as one of the industry's premier suppliers," added Chalfant.
"Brands like Sealed Power, Champion and Fel-Pro dominate their product
categories and can be found under the hoods of hundreds of cars at the track
each weekend.  More importantly, they're the brands repair technicians prefer
when they select products for their customers' vehicles."
    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.