Two days before the official start of the PRI Trade Show, students from across the nation gathered in Indianapolis to kick off the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Dual Championship. The first four spots in the Engine Challenge Finals had already been filled form the SEMA competition, and 17 additional teams competed for the final four spots at PRI. They worked tirelessly from Tuesday through Friday competing in performance engine rebuilds, looking for sub-20-minute completion times.

At the PRI Dual Championship, the 17 teams completed a total of four rebuilds each. The top three were then averaged to determine the overall winners. The teams that gained spots in the Engine Challenge Finals are Team Weld Racing from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center, Team Hypertech from Forsyth Central High School, Team Mahle from Burton Cetner for Arts and Technology, and Team Moroso from Elkhart Area Career Center.

After the Elite Eight spots were filled, the Elite Eight Showdown began on Friday. Three rebuilds took place to determine who would take the title of  the 2015 Engine Challenge National Champion. In the Dual Championship rounds, teams were allowed to throw out their worst run, but they were not allowed to do so here. The first two rebuilds were completed on Friday before one final run on Saturday. Team Weld Racing from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center took the title with their instructor, Jim LaFevers.  On average, their rebuilds took 18:19.  This team has continued their streak of being top finishers after capturing the title in 2013 and being one torque wrench penalty away from winning last year.

Just behind them was Team Hypertech with an average finish time of 19:32, securing them the second place spot. In third was Team Mahle with an average of 19:44, trailing by only 12 seconds. The top four was rounded out by Team ARP with an average time of 20:23. In fifth through eighth, respectively, were Team B&M Racing from Franklin County Career & Technology Center, Team K&N Filters from Loara High School, Team Moroso from Elkhart Area Center, and Team Taylor Cable from Belvidere North High School.

“We are always blown away by the dedication and performance of these students,” said head of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Program, Rodney Bingham. “Year after year they continue pushing the envelope, upping the level of competition and then going on after the program to do incredible things within the automotive industry. This was the reason we started the Engine Challenge, but we never really envisioned that it would rise to this level. Congratulations to Team Weld Racing and all of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competitors.”

While holding the title of Engline Challenge National Championship is a great feat in itself, another aspect is the scholarships offered by several of the top automotive colleges in the nation. More than $4.55 million in scholarship opportunities have been awarded this year to Hot Rodders of Tomorrow teams.

“This program would not be a success wihtout our college partners (University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), Ohio Technical College (OTC), School of Automotive Machinists (SAM), and Universal Technical Institute (UTI),” thanked Bingham. “We appreciated UTI coming on board this year and holding the luncheon for our students, as well as our other wonderful college partners. They will be receiving the best of the best into their programs thanks to their generous scholarships.”