Weve had a long term relationship with them, and our products had done well in their system, said Lucas Oil Executive Vice President Robert Patison. They were enthusiastic about the idea and very receptive to us about the concept.

The oil brand will be Lucas High Performance Engine Oil. He said NAPA will offer a variety of synthetic engine oil grades – 5W-20, 0W-30, 5W-30, 10W-30 and 20W-50 – along with a 20W-50 petroleum and a 10W-40 semi-synthetic engine oil. Patison said he expects retail prices for the synthetics will range from $6.99 to $7.49 per quart.

Patison said the oils will be sold in 730 of NAPAs company-owned stores. Beyond that, NAPA has more than 6,000 independently-owned stores. We have to go out and do the sales work with the independents, to sell the product directly into the independently held shops, he added.

Lucas, headquartered in Corona, Calif., plans to dedicate its entire outside sales staff to the program. Were hoping to canvass the country and contact all the independent jobbers within a three month period, Patison said. Were hoping by the end of May that well have made contact with every NAPA jobber in the country.

Patison explained that Lucas has sold other consumer product lines before. Weve had additives and chemical lines in the NAPA system since 1995 and in the truck stop industry since 1989, he said. We havent become as generally well known with the public until maybe the last five to six years, when we stepped up lot of our advertising and marketing. But weve been selling through retail automotive chains and truck stops since the beginning of the company.

Lucas will blend and package most of the engine oil at its plant in Crydon, Ind., Patison said, with a limited amount done at its Corona, Calif. facility.