Team MSD Wins Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Championship

In today’s society, seeing high school students involve themselves in positive, constructive surroundings is a rare occurrence. However, if you were in Fort Worth, Texas last weekend, May 8th, you would have witnessed eight outstanding groups of teens from all over Texas and Oklahoma converge for the third annual Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Division 4 championship.

The rules were simple. Teams must consist of five high school students selected by prerequisites such as grades, attendance, and skill. Teams are led by one instructor per team from their school. Each group must tear down a fully assembled small block Chevrolet accessorized from top to bottom. Competitors must disassemble the engine down to the crank shaft with hand tools before the second stage of the competition, assembly, takes place. Students are timed with penalties provided for dropped components, improper disassembly, assembly, sportsmanship, etc. Team MSD took home the victory with an outstanding time of 60 minutes 15 seconds. The winning team happened to be the only Oklahoma-based team at the event and will continue to the “Showdown at SEMA” national championship in Las Vegas, NV November 2nd-5th.

We thought this was a great event that  not only keeps kids out of trouble, but also teaches them responsibility, team work, and of coarse, how to become a successful wrench head! Please check out the press release below for more information.

Official Release:

Team MSD Wins Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Championship

Fort Worth, TX. Painless Performance, a leader in automotive wiring and electrical products for over twenty years held their first “Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge” Division 4 Championship Saturday May 8, 2010 at the Tarrant County College in Fort Worth TX. Team MSD – Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. from Choctaw OK. took first place with a time of 60 minutes and 15 seconds.

A total of 8 High School Auto Tech teams participated. The teams are made up of invited auto technology classes from local high schools. Each team consists of five students and the instructor/coach. The individual schools set standards and guidelines for involvement. Grades, attendance and skill are all part of the making of a team. Through this event these students get an opportunity to showcase their talents and knowledge gained during classroom sessions and workshops. It provides opportunities for students to develop and build teamwork, demonstrate their skills, enthusiasm, and ingenuity, build their confidence and commitment to excellence.  READ MORE>>

In an unexpected move, Kim Klevenhagen, the Director of Development from the School of Automotive Machinists, one of the most respected names in motorsports education, offered scholarships to the top 3 teams at this event. Giving the 1st Place team – $5000.00 to each team member (5 students), the 2nd Place team – $3000.00 to each team member (6 students) and the 3rd Place team – $2000.00 to each team member (7 students). A total of $57,000 offered in scholarship money.

Team MSD – Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. from Choctaw OK. will be representing division 4 at the National Championship dubbed “Showdown at SEMA” (Specialty Equipment Market Association) at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November. There, they will be competing against Division 2 winner – Team ARP – East Ridge High School from Chattanooga, TN., Division 3 winner – Team PRW – Fremd High School from Palatine, IL., Division 7 winner – Team Edelbrock – North Orange County ROP, Anaheim, CA. and the winner from Division 8 (Lane Automotive Car Show May, 29, 2010) championship plus a wildcard team, the best second place team nationwide. The current wildcard is from division 7 Team Autometer – Loara High School from Anaheim CA.

The event itself resembles the tear down between rounds at a drag race. The engines are identically prepared small block Chevys complete with all the goodies. Students must properly disassemble the engine using only hand tools, utilizing proper detorque and disassembly procedure. The air cleaner, carb, distributor, plug wires, spark plugs, manifold, headers, heads, lifters, rocker arms, push rods, timing chain and cover. Then the oil filter, oil pan, oil pump, plus all eight pistons are then removed. The cam and crank remain in the block. The team then returns behind their bench and wait for the judges to call them back, teams then begin working to reassemble once again with correct assembly procedure and torque specs, all while being viewed by judges and spectators. Time added penalties for dropped components, improper disassembly, assembly, sportsmanship, etc. will be added to ensure correct assembly. All procedure penalties are in the rule book provided to the schools at the start of the school year. The engines when reassembled would fire up and run if gas, water, and oil were added. The team with the fastest time including penalty minutes wins.

The staff of The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow is 100% volunteer and cannot be thanked enough for the thousands of hours they donate to this great event every year.

DIVISION 4 HOT RODDERS OF TOMORROW ENGINE CHALLENGE RESULTS:

Started at the inaugural Race & Performance Expo in 2008 under the supervision of Tim Freeman, The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge has quickly grown into a nationwide engine challenge with more Schools and Sponsors supporting this exciting event. For further information visit:www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com.