Borowski Race Engines Is Named 2018 Race Engine Builder Of The Year

Recently, Engine Builder Magazine released its 2018 Engine Builders of the Year list, and topping the “Race Engine” category was Borowski Race Engines. That is a name you might well recognize from previous EngineLabs articles, as well as the spec sheets of several vehicles featured by our sister sites. That’s no coincidence, as Borowski Racing Engines has been on a mission for the past eight years to become one of the top names in the marketplace.

“The company was founded in 1968 and we purchased it in January 2010 intending to create a virtuous cycle of acquiring the best machinery; attracting top talent; and marketing to secure the best customers,” says Joe McCaul, owner of Borowski Race Engines. They have stuck to their plan, on every front, outfitting the shop with some of the most technologically advanced CNC machines in the Rottler catalog, a Newen Contour Seat and Guide machines, and Fentech computerized crank balancer, while a state-of-the art Superflow dyno allows the team to validate all of their in-house builds

When it comes to talent, Borowski has no shortage on hand, and their roster even includes championship-winning and record-setting engine builder John Zapp, along with his son, Tim. “John Zapp joined us a little over seven years ago, and his son, Tim, works with us as well. Not surprisingly, he is a prodigy with knowledge and skills beyond his years,” says McCaul.

Joe McCaul and his son Ken (left) have spent the last eight years establishing Borowski Race Engines as a premier LS engine builder by following a plan which can be summarized as "Use the best equipment with the best staff, and get the best customers."

While the shop’s primary focus is high-end LS-based powerplants, they are by no means pigeonholed to modern small-block Chevrolet engines. To Borowski, “focused on” really translates to “keeps high-end parts in stock for” because when it comes to high-end parts, lead times are “long and indeterminate,” according to McCaul.

With “Racing Engine” right there in the name of the shop, and winning the “Race Engine Builder of the Year” award, we were surprised to find out that street performance engines are a bulk of Borowski’s business. “Despite averaging north of 1,000 horsepower, most of our LS engines have hydraulic roller cams, run on pump gas and go into street performance applications. The race segment is the second largest, although Drag Week type builds often blur the line,” says McCaul. “After that, there are a number of smaller markets we serve such as road racing and sand buggies.”

With their goals set, and a plan in place, it appears as if McCaul and team have achieved what they set out to accomplish in only eight short years, and plan on continuing to turn out awesome engines that blur the line between “street” and “race”.

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Greg Acosta

Greg has spent nineteen years and counting in automotive publishing, with most of his work having a very technical focus. Always interested in how things work, he enjoys sharing his passion for automotive technology with the reader.
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