By SEMA Editors
This year, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge championship is split into a dual format in which the top two teams from the 2014 SEMA Show will compete against the top two teams from the 2014 PRI Show. | |
This year, the sixth-annual Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge championships are split into a dual-championship format in which teams will compete at both the 2014 SEMA Show (November 4–7, in Las Vegas) and the PRI Show (December 11–13, in Indianapolis). From each dual championship, two teams will emerge. These four teams will face off for the 2014 Engine Challenge championship starting Friday, December 12, at 5:00 p.m., and two additional rounds on Saturday at the 2014 PRI Show.
With the SEMA Show quickly approaching, teams are gearing up for the competition. To have a chance at being a championship finalist, teams will likely need to complete the high-performance engine rebuild in less than 20 minutes.
Fifteen teams will compete at the 2014 SEMA Show beginning with the first heat on Tuesday, November 4. Heats continue through Wednesday and Thursday. Each team will compete a total of four times, with their slowest time being thrown out and the other three runs averaged together. The top two teams with the best average times will move on to the PRI Show to compete against the top two teams from PRI. View the complete SEMA Show schedule.
“The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge is a great program fueled by the young men and women who compete in it,” SEMA’s Zane Clark elaborated. As the director of education, he is looking forward to the dual championship being a part of the SEMA Show. “The new format of having the SEMA Show champions compete again at the PRI Show against their champs will be very exciting and showcase the tremendous skills of these young builders, while offering a rewarding end to their hard work and dedication. The industry-supported scholarships are a tremendous incentive for the qualifying participants and helps to offset the expenses of pursuing a career in the automotive industry.”
“Ohio Technical College (OTC) is proud to have been a sponsor of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge since the first competition at SEMA,” said OTC’s Director of Enrollment Management Tom King. “It’s a great opportunity to see young people learning and working as a team to prove themselves, and we are excited to provide scholarship opportunities to these students again this year.”
Three million dollars in scholarship money is available to the 34 teams competing in the dual championship, thanks to Hot Rodders of Tomorrow partners OTC, School of Automotive Machinist (SAM) and the University of Northwest Ohio (UNOH).
“The University of Northwestern Ohio is proud to be an active sponsor of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Competition at the 2014 SEMA Show,” added UNOH’s Donald Lowden. “We are offering scholarships to the talented students who place in the competition to help further their education in high-performance technology. Good luck to all the participants.”
Each member of the winning team will receive $10,000 in scholarship opportunities from each college partner.
“The School of Automotive Machinists is happy to support high school students who are excited about the automotive industry,” said Kim Klevenhagen, director of development at SAM. “We hope these students will continue their automotive training and go on to work in the motorsports industry.”
Results from the SEMA Show will be posted at www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com.