Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Junior Engine Challenge is a huge hit!

The love of racing and performance is something that for many is developed at an early age. In order to help fuel this passion, we want to expose kids to a unique opportunity to showcase workmanship and the awareness of complex mechanisms. This contest will be featured and hosted as a part of the HROT JR Dragster Series & the Midwest Junior Super Series, to be hosted at 9 events all across the central US in 2017.

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Junior Engine Challenge presented by Racequip was kicked off February 25th-26th at the Race and Performance Expo in Schaumburg, IL and let’s just say it was a huge hit! The contest is very simple, a team is comprised of 2 individuals, one team member must be 5-18 years of age, and he or she must completely disassemble/reassemble a complete single cylinder OHV engine utilizing only basic hand tools. Some of the goals of the premise behind this contest is to help individuals develop communication skills and increase self-esteem. The contest will help youngster’s develop great problem solving skills and an understanding of an internal combustion engine.
image005.jpgOver the course of the 2 day RP Expo, we proceeded to have the engines ran through over 40 times, with kids waiting for over an hour to have a chance to develop and showcase their skills at perfecting the teams rebuilding skills on the small engine. Event organizer Ryan Gortney mentioned, “One 5th grade student who participated in the contest on Saturday persuaded his parents to travel the two hours back to the show the next day to have the opportunity to go through the engine a second time. I was overwhelmed by the response to our first event, and excited for the future events in 2017.”