Engineering Stress, also known as Nominal Stress, is used in material testing, to quantify load carrying characteristics and abilities, such as ultimate tensile strength (UTS), modulus of rupture (under bending), yield strength, etc. Standard testing, however, is limited to regular cross-section shapes (rectangular, circle, etc.). In engineering applications, however, geometry and loading are typically much more complex. While FEA can be used to calculate local stress concentrations, the underlying Nominal Stress is not known. This paper introduces a method to calculate nominal stresses, based on FEA element nodal forces. Internal testing results of FCD500 (common material for brake components) bars, with and without notches, will be presented. Corresponding Nominal Stresses and local stress concentrations will be discussed, along with testing results.