By SEMA Editors
 Team Fel-Pro from Tulsa Technology Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, is the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge 2017 Dual National Champion, with an average time of 17:06. |
The final half of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge 2017 Dual National Championship took place last week at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show in Indianapolis. It included 18 teams that battled to become one of the top four teams to compete in the Elite Eight playoffs for the 2017 Dual National Championship.
The Elite Eight Competition
A total of 45 teams competed at the SEMA Show and PRI Trade Show to qualify for the Elite Eight competition, which pitted the top four SEMA Show seeds against the top four PRI Trade Show seeds.
The top four teams that competed at the PRI Trade Show included Team K&N from Burton Center for Arts & Tech in Salem, Virginia, which finished in fourth place with an average time of 20:59. Team Derale from Forsyth Central High School in Cumming, Georgia, finished in third place with an average time of 20:25. Team QA1, also from Forsyth Central High School, came in second place with an average time of 18:29. In first place came Team Meziere from Burton Center for Arts & Tech with the best average time of 17:51.
The top four teams from the SEMA Show were Team Howards Cams from Lakeshore High School in Stevensville, Michigan, with an average time of 19:07. Team Fragola Performance Systems from Fremd High School in Palatine, Illinois, came in second place with an average time of 20:56. Team Aeromotive from Eastern Oklahoma Technology Center in Choctaw, Oklahoma, took third place with an average time of 21:52. Team Fel-Pro from Tulsa Technology Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came in fourth place with an average time of 23:08.
Times are based on three important parts. First, the average of the three times in which the teams competed. Second are the penalty minutes added for mistakes made during disassembly and reassembly, and the third is a 50-question written test on parts and tools identification, along with general engine and rules knowledge.
The Best Against the Best
Only three seconds separated the first- and second-place teams, and just 17 seconds between first and third place. But in the end, Team Fel-Pro from Tulsa Technology Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came out on top with an average time of 17:06.
Each student earned scholarship opportunities ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from Ohio Technical College, School of Automotive Machinists & Technology and Universal Technical Institute.
For more information and to view the final standings, visit www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com.