Federated enjoyed another successful day at the races at the annual Federated 300 held June 7 in Nashville, entertaining customers and recognizing supplier support during the festivities, according to Rusty Bishop, CEO of Federated Auto Parts.

“The Federated 300 is a special event for over 1,200 Federated customers due, in part, to the efforts of our great suppliers who help sponsor the race,” said Bishop. “We appreciate each and every one of our supplier partners and are always pleased to honor our award-winning suppliers through their participation in the activities surrounding the Federated 300.”

Three of Federated’s award-winning supplier partners helped to get the 13th-annual Federated Auto Parts 300 off to a rousing start. Bob Egan of Federal-Mogul, who was recently inducted into Federated’s Vendor Hall of Fame, served as grand marshall of the race. Jack Jones of Affinia gave the command to “start your engines” and Dan Langdon from East Penn waved the green flag to start the race.

In other company news, Federated will once again team up with Baker Curb Racing as the primary sponsor of the No. 27 Federated Car Care Ford Fusion driven by Brad Coleman for the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Bosch Celebrates Production Of 500 Millionth Oxygen Sensor
Bosch celebrated the production of its 500 millionth oxygen sensor in May. For 32 years, this vital component has played a major role in reducing automotive emissions.

Bosch invented and started series production of automotive oxygen sensors in 1976. Ten years after its launch in the U.S. variant of the Volvo 264, Bosch celebrated delivery of the 10 millionth oxygen sensor. By 1993, this figure was already 50 million, and by 2001, 250 million. In the meantime, the company produces roughly 5,000 oxygen sensors per hour worldwide — some 45 million every year.

Identifix Achieves Database Milestone
Identifix, a source of online and hotline diagnostic and repair information, has added the 250,000th Hotline Archive to Direct-Hit, its award-winning online diagnostic product. In addition, Identifix delivers more than 100,000 “confirmed fixes” in Direct-Hit.

Each month, the most interesting diagnostic problems are selected to write as Hotline Archives from more than 15,000 calls received by the 45-plus factory-trained master technicians who staff the Repair Hotline operated by Identifix. Identifix technicians document the vehicle problem/symptoms, provide useful short-cut tests and helpful hints and the most likely cause(s) for this problem; all on a one-page document that can be printed and taken to the vehicle.

Mighty MICPlus CD Takes Top Awards from NCMA
Mighty’s MICPlus electronic catalog “Designed by Technicians for Technicians” garnered top awards from the National Catalog Managers Association (NCMA) on May 6 at the NCMA Conference held at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa Bay, FL. The conference was described as a “knowledge exchange for automotive cataloging professionals.”

MICPlus received the “NCMA Gold President’s Award for Catalog Excellence in CD Cataloging,” and also won the “Most User-Friendly CD Catalog Award.” Scott Hunsinger, director of product information for Mighty, and Adam Phillips, Mighty’s applications specialist, accepted the awards from NCMA president, Chris Nierentz.

AASA Changes Vision Conference Dates to March 17-18, 2009
The Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) announced the rescheduling of its second-annual Vision Conference to Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17-18, 2009, at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare, Rosemont, IL.

“We have changed from our original conference dates in an accommodation to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) to avoid a conflict with its 2009 event schedule,” said Steve Handschuh, president and COO of AASA.

Based on member feedback from the AASA Vision Conference 2008, the 2009 event will be concentrated into an information-packed day, allowing members to participate and gain the valuable insights from peers and industry leaders with minimal time away from their businesses.

Details about the AASA Vision 2009 Conference, including keynote speakers, panelists, Vision Workgroup Sessions and online registration, will be available soon at www.aasavision.org.

Winners of 2008 MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown Score A Stunning 15:59 Engine Build
Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman of Pro Motor Engines wasted no time as they racked up a stunning 15 minutes and 59 second build to win the 2008 MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown on May 20. They came away with the Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy and a cash prize of $26,000, as well as bragging rights for another year. They’re winners two years in a row, now having taken last year’s top prize with a 16:25 build.

Runners-up Mike Kasch and Jim Snyder of Roush Yates Racing Engines received $9,000. Kasch was a winner at the first Engine Builder Showdown held nine years ago.

The final round of the 2008 Engine Builder Showdown, hosted by MAHLE Clevite Inc., took place at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC, before an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand excited on-lookers.

Winner Borem has worked on muscle cars since he was in high school. According to Borem, his interest in stock car racing and road racing fueled his passion for building engines for NASCAR. He has 25 years of experience in engine building and has been with Pro Motor for 23 years.

Teammate and fellow-winner Hoffman says his interest in engine building began with racing dirt cars. He has 20 years of experience in engine building and has been at Pro Motor Engines for five years.