At the recent SEMA Show held in Las Vegas, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow held the first half of their Engine Challenge Dual Championship. The high school students competing in this event had their largest group of spectators at any Engine Challenge to date.

Team Auto Meter, from the Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center, set a new Engine Challenge record on their way to becoming one of the SEMA Dual Championship winners, by completing a performance engine rebuild in an astounding 18 minutes and nine seconds, with an average time of their three rebuilds during the competition of 19 minutes and 28 seconds.

The National Championship for the Engine Challenge takes place at the upcoming Performance Racing Industry trade show, to be held next week, December 11-13, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Team Auto Meter holds the top seed entering the event.

Team Moroso, from the Thomas County Central High School in Georgia, came in second place at the SEMA Show with an average time of 21:15, and Team Hedman placed third just seven seconds behind Team Moroso. Fifteen teams in total competed at the first half of the event, with the Royal Purple team, comprised of all ladies, came in fifth overall with a time of 26:17, the highest finish ever for an all-female team.

The top two teams from SEMA – Team Auto Meter and Team Moroso – comprise half of the Final Four; the other two teams will come from the second half of the competition, with 14 additional teams competing at PRI to round out the second half of the bracket.

The four teams will compete in the National Championship, with their first round held Friday night at PRI, with the last two rounds of competition coming on Saturday at 9AM and 12PM. All three of these rounds will be averaged, and the team with the best average time will become the 2014 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow National Champions.

In addition to the skills these young students gain during the competition, each team competing in the Engine Challenge Dual Championship will also be awarded scholarships to top automotive and technical secondary schools. A great showing for all; we’ll be back to report on the Champion after the final wrench is turned!