The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow program has certainly battled adversity in 2015 with bad weather complicating travel and the group’s truck and trailer being stolen.
“It has been a trying year,” admits director Rodney Bingham. “But in the end it was our best season ever.”
Competition wrapped up at PRI with Team Weld Racing from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center capturing the overall championship. Taking second was Team Hypertech from Forsyth Central High School in Georgia followed by Team Mahle from Burton Center for Arts and Technology in Virginia.
The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow challenge is somewhat similar to action in the pit between Top Fuel rounds at a drag race. There are three identically prepared small-block Chevys positioned in front of the work benches dedicated to each team. The students must disassemble the engines, using only hand tools and proper de-torquing procedures. When given the go-ahead by the judges, the teams then re-assemble the engines. Rules spell out correct procedures and torque numbers. Teams can also be penalized for dropping parts or any action deemed unsportsmanlike. The team with the fastest overall time wins. Numerous aftermarket companies support the teams with uniforms with other endorsements, and the top finishers earn scholarships to further their automotive ambitions.
But this year’s competition was put in doubt in June when the truck and trailer that transports the association’s engines and other gear were stolen from a storage facility in Southern California. The trailer was recovered but heavily damaged and all the engines and tools were missing. The GMC Topkick truck is still missing.
“We had to source 13 engines,” says Bingham.
Throughout the country, 158 teams entered the competition that was narrowed down in 12 local events. Thirty-nine teams qualified for the Dual Championship, the first of which was held at SEMA in Las Vegas and won by Team ARP in a record-setting performance. The second was held in the opening days at PRI, which was won by Team Weld Racing. Four teams from the Dual Championship rounds in Las Vegas and Indianapolis then competed in the finals during the last days of PRI. Here are the results of the top 8 and their average times:
- Team Weld — 18:19.7
- Team Hypertech — 19:32.7
- Team Mahle — 19:44.7
- Team ARP — 20:23.3
- Team B&M Racing — 21:50.3
- Team K&N Filters — 22:09.7
- Team Moroso — 23:47.0
- Team Taylor Cable — 24:28.0
Winning members of Team Weld include Ryan Campbell, Tyler Messner, Jonathan Karl, Adiel Zapata and Drew West. The instructor is Jim LaFevers.