Hot Rodders of Tomorrow - 'Out Front' at SEMA

For those new to it, Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge is a national High School Engine Building Competition. A Team of five students disassemble and reassemble a small block under the clock for trophies and scholarships.  It is truly an exciting race with young people being introduced to the automotive hobby and industry. 

So here we are in Las Vegas, with Halloween on the horizon, at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association’s (SEMA) annual convention for 2012.  The SEMA Show is the largest automotive specialty products trade event in the world. It brings together the industry’s hottest products and greatest talent to the Las Vegas Convention Center.  This year The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow are set up at the entrance of the SEMA show!

This is a wonderful opportunity for participants to witness the results of years of practice by high school students under the coaching of their automotive class instructors. Twelve teams are coming in from all over the country for a four day elimination event, the most ever done at SEMA before.  While the SEMA Show is known for its wonderful educational seminars and product demonstrations, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow is a special event right at the front door!

Last year SEMA 2011 drew more than 60,000 so it is expected that at least that many persons may pass by the Challenge.  It has been touted as one of the most entertaining attractions each and every year at the SEMA Show. It is run by volunteers and sponsored by many of the major players in the performance industry. The kids, in teams of five, compete with each other for bragging rights and college scholarships in what is one big engine building race.  They square off in several “heats” in which a Chevy 350 high performance engine is torn down and rebuilt throughout the week of SEMA to determine an overall champion in front of tens of thousands of spectators!

Tom Begler (left) has volunteered since the beginning of HROT and is a true expert on the engines and the rules!  Jim Bingham, HROT founder and chief, is the CEO of Winners Circle in Joliet, Ill., and a Board Member of SEMA.

Only in America! For more details on The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow go, to their website http://www.HotRoddersOfTomorrow.com.  If you are anywhere near Vegas, be sure to stop by and meet with volunteers and see the teams compete.

By Mike Thies