Record-setting Team ARP Early Favorite In Engine Building Contest

Four high schools that qualified at SEMA, including record-setting Team ARP from Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Georgia, will be traveling to the PRI Show next month to compete in the finals of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Championship.

Team ARP won the qualifying round in Las Vegas with a blistering average time of 17:20, well ahead of Team Taylor from Belvidere North High School in Belvidere, Illinois, and their time of 22:37. The other two qualifiers include Team K&N Engineering of Loara High School in Anaheim, California,  23:52; and Team B&M from Franklin County Career and Technology Center in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 24:09.

Twenty-two teams competed at SEMA in the first half of the Dual Championship that will determine the eight finalists for the overall title. The second qualifying Dual Championship will also be held on Thursday and Friday at PRI with the championship set for Saturday. Some $3.8 million in scholarship money is available to the competitors.

“As always, we were very impressed with the teams’ performances at the SEMA Show,” says Jim Bingham, president of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow. “They continue to amaze us with their dedication and hard work.”

Team ARP set a new national record during their appearance at Las Vegas, completing one of their rebuilds in 16:11, beating the previous record of 16:22 held by Team Nitrous Express. Competitors must take a 50-question written exam to test their knowledge in addition to challenging the clock in disassembling and rebuilding identical small-block Chevy engines under the strict observance of judges.

For the second straight year, an all-female team appeared in the competition, and this team also had a female instructor. Team Edelbrock with instructor Jill Arata finished 11th overall in 28:31.