SEMA News—December 2012
EVENTS
By Chad Simon
Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Strives to Develop Young Talent
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“The shortage of young talent in this industry that we’ve been experiencing is slowly getting better,” said Jim Bingham, chairman of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow and president/CEO of Winner’s Circle Speed & Custom. “But there’s still a shortage of not only young talent, but also skilled workers across the country; we still have to work to solve the problem, and this program helps.”
The purpose of the competition is to offer opportunities for students to build and develop teamwork, demonstrate their enthusiasm and ingenuity and build their confidence and commitment to excellence. The Showdown at SEMA national championship was held October 30–November 2, 2012, at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
“I absolutely love this event,” said Chris Kersting, SEMA president and CEO. “It is amazing to me that Jim’s activity has impacted so many members of our industry over the years. We’re pleased to be a part of the event and to support this effort.”
Teams of five automotive technology students and an instructor from invited high schools across the country compete to properly disassemble and reassemble small-block Chevrolet engines with aftermarket components in the least amount of time. The winner is the team with the quickest total time, including added penalties. The competition engines are built to replicate the real-world, high-performance engines found in today’s musclecars and hot rods.
The idea for the organization came to life during the first year of a local St. Charles consumer show called the Race & Performance Expo. Tim Freeman, an area businessman, asked Bingham to help him put together an engine challenge for the show, and Freeman successfully recruited five local high schools for the engine challenge. With Bingham’s help, Vic Edelbrock, chairman of Edelbrock Corp., decided that he wanted to expand the concept across the country, starting with the first Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge held at the Race & Performance Expo in 2008.
“My motive for launching this program at the time was Vic Edelbrock,” Bingham said. “He told me that we needed to do this, and so I set out to help Vic. Other hosts started to come forward and I saw the need, so I just kept after it.”
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Edelbrock, in partnership with Kersting, was initially responsible for getting the organization invited to the SEMA Show in 2009. Four teams competed there the first year. That grew to six in the second year, and Hot Rodders of Tomorrow came to the SEMA Show with 10 teams in 2011. This year, 13 teams competed at the SEMA Show for $2.5 million in scholarships.
“This is just what our industry needed,” said Edelbrock. “It involves our youth and gives them a focus that will help prepare them for careers in the performance automotive aftermarket.”
Qualifying teams typically finish the challenge in the 35-minute timeframe. All teams are encouraged to finish the engine build, regardless of time; however, once a team hits the 60-minute range, the instructor may help.
Time-added penalties are assessed when participants commit errors, which include dropping components, improper disassembly and poor sportsmanship. There are five judges, each following an individual student, and they score everything from the use of torque wrenches to proper assembly.
The ultimate prize for each member of the winning team is $10,000 in scholarship money provided by Ohio Technical College, the School of Automotive Machinists and the University of Northwest Ohio. A total of $975,000 was posted for the 2011 SEMA Show, with the smallest amount being $5,000 per student for the sixth- through 10th-place finishers.
“Sometimes we impact young people in ways we may never know, and I think that is the case with this contest,” said Chris Overfelt, a team instructor. “We hear stories about kids going to college from the scholarships, but this contest impacts them in ways we may never know.”
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“We want the best and fastest teams at the SEMA Show,” Bingham said. “So next year, if a host does not have 15 teams at each regional event, the winners will be judged by their times. But if there are 15, the winning team will automatically go.”
The 2011 Showdown at SEMA champion was Team Moroso from Loara High School in Anaheim, California, with a record-breaking time of 21:08. Two of the winners from last year’s team will compete on this year’s Motive Gear team.
“The 2011 Showdown at SEMA was very successful,” Bingham said. “We had people lined up in the lobby, all the way up the escalator and on the second floor watching from the top.”
In 2013, the national championship will move to the 26th Annual Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando. Additional contests will be featured, including a ring-and-pinion challenge, a cylinder-head challenge and a carburetor-rebuild competition.
To date, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has been seen by more than 760,000 people, fostered a total of 328 teams in eight divisions consisting of 1,675 students from across the country, and has raised more than $6 million in scholarship money.
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2012 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Sponsors |
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Where They Are Now
In November 2009, Joliet Central High School, sponsored by Fel-Pro, became the first Showdown at SEMA winner. James Seeley was on that team.
“Winning the challenge was awesome; I can’t even describe it in words,” Seeley said. “It was one of the coolest moments of my life. We worked so hard to get there, and it all paid off in the end.”
Through the scholarship money he earned, Seeley went on to study in the high-performance and racing department at Ohio Technical College. While in school, he started working part-time as a race car mechanic for the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience. After graduating, he went to work for Wallace full-time, traveling to NASCAR tracks throughout the United States.
“All my life I’ve been interested in anything that’s engine operated,” Seeley said. “I’ve always felt comfortable around engines in cars. There’s so much new technology being brought into the automotive industry, and young kids can hold so much more knowledge, so it’s important for them to become more involved in
this industry.”
In the future, Seeley plans to continue working for Wallace, possibly getting off the road, settling down and running a shop. He says he could see himself staying there for a while.
According to Snap-on Equipment, the new John Bean RFV 2000 Automated Diagnostic Wheel Balancer is a one-of-a-kind machine that redefines the way tires are balanced and provides immediate improvement in productivity and performance. The John Bean RFV 2000 incorporates “stripe-of-light” technology that provides advanced measuring processes to eliminate the need for mechanical measuring devices used in other wheel balancing systems. With 3-D data obtained from optical cameras, the RFV 2000 provides a 3-D scaled color display of the tread, sidewall and wheel along with a graphical representation of data to allow pinpoint location of localized runout.
Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) announces 5th Gen Camaro Drag Race Suspension Kits have been developed to improve 60-ft. and 1/4-mile performance of stock to heavily modified ’10–’12 Chevrolet Camaros.
New 90-degree Universal T3 Downpipe
EngineQuest has announced its first-ever GM 6.5L diesel package, which includes a brand-new 6.5L diesel bare block, a center-mounted turbo, pair of cylinder heads, crankshaft and set of head bolts. The package covers numerous Chevrolet and GMC van applications.
H3R Performance has added four new 5-lb. models to its line of dry-chemical and “clean agent” fire extinguishers. Available in red, black and chrome finishes, the units leave no messy residue, making them ideal for classic and collector vehicles, according to the company.
Ever-increasing LS V8 engine sizes and higher-flowing heads have spurred development of intake manifolds capable of feeding 450-plus cubes to more than 7,000 rpm. To accommodate such advances, Mast Motorsports now offers a new line of LS cast tunnel-ram intake manifolds for both standard-deck and tall-deck engines outfitted for either carburetors or EFI. The company says that the intakes can feed more than 1,500 naturally aspirated hp and 2,500 hp in boosted applications.
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Rugged Ridge, a division of OMIX-ADA, has announced the introduction and availability of its first-ever PowerTop for the ’07–’12 JK Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. The result of extensive research and development, the patent-pending Rugged Ridge PowerTop design allows the convertible soft-top structure to be lowered or raised in as little as five seconds with the simple push of a button, effectively eliminating the need to exit the vehicle during the onset of inclement weather.
CORSA Performance Exhausts now offers its cat-back systems for the ’11 Chevrolet Camaro V8 coupe and convertible.
Equipto
Spies Hecker
TruXedo’s TruXport tonneau cover is now available for ’05–’11 Toyota Tacoma models. According to the manufacturer, the cover easily clamps on for installation in less than 20 minutes and completely rolls up and stores in seconds without any loose parts. A preset tension-control feature keeps the cover latched tight in any climate.
Valvoline has introduced two new NextGen motor oil products for both commercial and industrial customers. Now available in bulk and drum sizes, the NextGen Premium Blue SAE 15W-40 and NextGen All Fleet Plus SAE 15W-40 products are made from 50% recycled oil and deliver what the company hails as “100% Valvoline engine protection.”
Kurgo, a manufacturer of pet travel and safety products, is pleased to introduce the new Car Door Guard. Protecting car door interiors from scratches, dirt, mud and slobber, the waterproof Car Door Guard easily fits to large and small vehicle door panels and includes a large interior pocket for storing Fido’s traveling necessities. Available in black and khaki, the Car Door Guard easily attaches with simple tabs that slide between windows and door panels.
Volant’s new CAI kit for 5.0L V8 Ford F-150 pickups replaces the factory air-filter box and radiator coolant-overflow tank to deliver more air. The kit comes with a Pro-5 cotton gauze reusable filter and is also available with a Volant filter, using Donaldson PowerCore Filtration Technology that the company says will provide up to 99.97% filtration efficiency, no maintenance and last up to 100,000 miles.
It’s 1968, and Car Craft magazine publisher Sal Fish shakes hands with actor James Garner. Garner, in the helmet and goggles, sits in a Bill Stroppe-prepped Ford Bronco, ready to race in the second National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) Mexican 1000.