In 2015, D-A Lubricant Company, Inc. acquired the Brad Penn Finished Lubes division — including the iconic PennGrade 1 High-Performance Oil — from ARG, the former Kendall refinery in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

At the time of the purchase, the agreement between D-A Lubricant and ARG stated ARG would maintain the blending and packaging of the PennGrade 1 family of products for the short-term while D-A was adding the space and capabilities for two new packaging lines at its state-of-the-art facility in Lebanon, Indiana.

“The plan also included a complete redesign of the bottles, labels and cartons for the entire line of products,” said D-A Lubricant Executive Vice President John Noal.

When you take on manufacturing the best high-performance racing, classic, vintage, legacy, historic, muscle car and street rod engine oil in the market, you consistently remain a target mainstay for the competition. And when you change the name and look of that iconic, unparalleled engine lubricant, you’re bound to get some pushback. From spring 2017 to fall 2018, rumors were circulating that the D-A product had been changed.

“We have continued to produce the same PennGrade 1 oil product that has been manufactured for the last fifty years,” Noal said. “But if it is in a different bottle and is blended and manufactured in a different facility by a different company, people are likely to blame any performance issue on the oil.”

Finally in the fall of 2018, it was time for D-A Lubricant to take the bull by the horns. They decided to put PennGrade 1 to the test — the most comprehensive wear testing of the product ever — to prove, once and for all, what they already knew.

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