The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge’s fifth event of the season was held March 31 at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, North Carolina.
A total of four schools from Georgia and Virginia fielding 11 teams competed, with seven new teams of the 11 advancing to the 2018 Dual National Championship Playoffs, where they will have a chance to win thousands of dollars in college scholarships at the SEMA Show and PRI Show.
To qualify for the Dual National Championship, a team must finish disassembling and reassembling a small-block Chevrolet engine in less than 33 minutes, including penalties.
Forsyth Central High School from Cumming, Georgia, fielded six teams with five qualifying for the playoffs and the sixth just missing out by 50 seconds. Team RHS Heads placed second with the time of 21:18, Team Allstar Performance placed third with 24:57. Teams Moroso, Scat and McLeod Racing all qualified with times of 26:31, 31:20 and 32:42 respectively. The Forsyth Central automotive program is headed up by Marlo Miranda.
Miranda has 300 students in the automotive program, and of those, he has 45 on the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow engine team. He added that he has had 26 of his past engine team students go on to a tech college, and that about 90 to 95 percent of the students take advantage of the scholarships they’ve won.
The first-place team overall was Burton Center for Arts & Tech from Salem, Virginia, Team Vibrant Performance, with the time of 19:17. (Team Vibrant had already qualified at the Summit AutoRama with a 18:12 time). Burton Center for Arts & Tech No. 3 – Team Magnaflow qualified with a 26:04 time.
Americus Sumter High School from Americus, Georgia, fielded two teams and has one going to the playoffs, Team Aeromotive clocking in with a 32:35 time.
For more information, visit HotRoddersofTomorrow.com.
For additional information in starting a team or sponsorship opportunities, contact Rodney Bingham at [email protected] or call 815-722-5460.