The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Competition started in 2008 at the Race and Performance Expo in St. Charles Indiana. The program has since been a national success. Now in 2014, almost 50 aftermarket companies such as PRW and Flowmaster sponsored schools all over the nation for this competition. The goal for these students is to disassemble and reassemble a small block Chevy in the fastest time possible.The competition is playoff style with thirty teams total. The two best from the SEMA championships will meet the two best from the PRI championships for the final four showdown.
The competition starting in SEMA this year was a hot race. The Moroso sponsored Thomas Central High School from Georgia broke down and built up the small block at an impressive time of 21:15. However, the 1st place winners that night were the Autometer team of Oklahoma County Tech Center with an astounding time of 19:28. These two teams went on to meet Team Nitrous Express (Burton Center for Arts and Technology) and Team Derale (Forsyth Central) at the PRI final four.
The finals were definitely a championship to remember. During the heat friday night, three of the final four teams all achieved times below 20 minutes. Team Autometer from Georgia almost set the national record of 16:26, but had to be penalized for a tool violation. After the final round the winners would ultimately be Team Nitrous Express from Virginia who actually set the national record at 16:22 with no violation in sight. Heartbroken Team Derale was only 30 seconds off the the winning time. There are no losers in this contest, however, all placing competitors will receive scholarship money for the tech school of their choice. With one of the most exciting championships to date, this was truly a success for the schools and ultimately the fans of drag racing.