The first half of the 2015 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Dual Championship is complete. The Engine Challenge, which was held at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, consisted of twenty-two teams made up of solely high-school students competing against each other and the clock to complete performance engine rebuilds. For the first time, they also included a 50-question written exam to further test and display their knowledge. Team ARP’s Peach County High School from Fort Valley, GA came in at an average time of 17:20 to set the bar and take the SEMA Dual Championship’s top spot at the Engine Challenge Championship Finals.
The next step is to determine an overall Engine Challenge champion. The top four teams from the SEMA Show will compete against the top four teams from the second halff of the Dual Championship, forming an “elite eight” showdown to be held at the PRI Show, December 10-12 in Indianapolis.
In addition to Team ARP, three other teams completed rebuilds in less than 25 minutes and also qualified for the Engine Challenge Finals. In second was Team Taylor from Belvidere North High School in Belvidere, IL. They completed their rebuilds in an average time of 22:37. Not far behind was Team K&N Engineering from Loara High School in Anaheim, CA, posting an average time of 23:52. The final team to qualify for the Engine Challenge Finals was Team B&M from Franklin County Career and Technology Center in Chambersburg, PA with an average time of 24:09.
Team ARP not only took the top spot at the SEMA Show, but they also set a new national record. They completed one of their rebuilds in just 16:11, beating the previous record of 16:22 held by Team Nitrous Express.
There is more at stake than just the title of 2015 Engine Challenge Champion and bragging rights. There are $3.8 million in scholarships on the line for these high-school students from a variety of career, technology, and automotive colleges.
“As always, we were very impressed with the teams’ performances at the SEMA Show,” said Jim Bingham, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow President. “They continue to amaze us with their dedication and hard work. We are honored to be a part of their journey in the automotive field. We can’t wait to see the final outcome of the 2015 Engine Challenge Championship.”
The second half of the Dual Championship will be held Thursday and Friday of the PRI Show, December 10-11. The elite-eight showdown will take place Saturday, December 12, beginning at 12:00 p.m.
