PRI 2012: Hot Rodder's of Tomorrow PRI Championships

A team of students from East Ridge High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, won the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge championship held during the PRI Show. East Ridge was sponsored by Mr. Gasket and finished with an average time of 21:40, easily defeating runnerup Peach County High School from Fort Valley, Georgia, in a time of 25:16. Taking third was the team from Thomas County Central High School in Thomasville, Georgia, with an average time of 27:55.

The Hot Rodder’s of Tomorrow engine challenge resembles the tear down between rounds at a drag race event. Team are faced with identically prepared small-block Chevy engines. The students must disassemble the engine using common hand tools. After the judges determined the proper tear down procedures were followed, the teams then reassemble the complete engine using proper torquing procedures and adhering to all the specs — all while being viewed by judges and spectators.

Time is added for penalties, such as dropped components, improper disassembly, assembly and sportsmanship. The goal is to have a complete engine assembly that should fire up and run if gas, water and oil were added. The team with the fastest average time, including penalty minutes, wins the competition.

For the PRI engine challenge, the teams faced each other in pairs in a heat race format. The event winner was determined based on an overall average of their times during the two days of heats. Each team was allowed to drop their lowest two scores.

Represented at the event were:

Team Mr. Gasket from East Ridge High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Team Hedman Hedders from Belvidere North High School in Belvidere, Illinois
Team Painless from Sequoyah High School in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee
Team Proform from Peach County High School in Fort Valley, Georgia
Team Thermo-Tec from Thomas County Central High School in Thomasville, Georgia

East Ridge High School’s Team Mr. Gasket is one of two teams from the school. In a short time, the school has built a solid reputation and looks to be contenders at all events.

Belvidere North High School’s Team Hedman Hedders came into the competition following a victory at the Race and Performance Expo in St. Charles, Illinois, earlier in 2012.

Sequoyah High School’s Team Painless, rivals the Chattanooga teams from East Ridge High School with two teams. On the nationwide stage, the engine builders from Tennessee are well represented.

Peach County High School’s Team Proform also entered the event with a notable win in 2012’s competition schedule by taking top honors the the SkillsUSA Georgia event.

Thomas County Central High School’s Team Thermo-Tec also scored up a win earlier in the 2012 season by taking the Painless Performance Products event in Forth Worth, Texas, over nine other teams.

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow PRI Event Championships

Thursday, November 29, Day 1 Heats:

Heat #1 10:00 a.m.

Team Proform, Peach County High School, Fort Valley, Georgia VS. Team Painless, Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee

Team Proform: 23:44
Team Painless: 33:47

Day 1-Round 1: Proform VS. Painless

Heat #2 11:30 a.m.

Team Hedman Hedders, Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, Illinois VS. Team Thermo-Tec, Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, Georgia

Team Hedman: 32:52
Team Thermo-Tec: 33:06

Day 1-Round 2: Team Thermo-Tec VS. Team Hedman

Heat #3 1:30 p.m.

Team Mr. Gasket, East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee VS. Team Painless, Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee

Team Mr. Gasket: 21:49
Team Painless: 35:30

Day 1-Round 3: Team Painless VS. Team Mr. Gasket

Heat #4 3:00 p.m.

Team Proform, Peach County High School, Fort Valley, Georgia VS. Team Thermo-Tec, Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, Georgia

Team Proform: 25:45
Team Thermo-Tec: 30:41

Day 1-Round 4: Team Thermo-Tec VS. Team Proform

Heat #5 4:30 p.m.

Team Mr. Gasket, East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee VS. Team Hedman Hedders, Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, Illinois

Team Mr. Gasket: 22:12
Team Hedman: 31:51

Day 1-Round 5: Team Mr. Gasket VS. Team Hedman

Friday, November 30th, Day 2 Heats:

Heat #1 10:00 a.m.

Team Mr. Gasket, East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee VS. Team Thermo-Tec, Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, Georgia

Team Mr. Gasket: 21:35
Team Thermo-Tec: 25:33

Day 2-Round 1: Team Thermo-Tec VS. Team Mr. Gasket

Heat #2 11:30 a.m.

Team Painless, Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee VS. Team Hedman Hedders, Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, Illinois

Team Painless: 27:05
Team Hedman: 29:56

Day 2-Round 2: Team Painless VS. Team Hedman

Heat #3 1:30 p.m.

Team Proform, Peach County High School, Fort Valley, Georgia VS. Team Mr. Gasket, East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Team Proform: 27:29
Team Mr. Gasket: 21:37

Day 2-Round 3: Team Proform VS. Team Mr. Gasket

Heat #4 3:00 p.m.

Team Thermo-Tec, Thomas County Central High School, Thomasville, Georgia VS. Team Painless, Sequoyah High School, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee

Team Thermo-Tec: 27:33
Team Painless: 31:56

Day 2-Round 4: Team Thermo-Tec VS. Team Painless

Heat #5 4:30 p.m.

Team Hedman Hedders, Belvidere North High School, Belvidere, Illinois VS. Team Proform, Peach County High School, Fort Valley, Georgia

Team Hedman: 30:16
Team Proform: 26:19

Day 2-Round 5: Team Proform VS. Team Hedman

Top three teams in the PRI Championship event of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

Saturday, December 1, Awards Event:

1st Place: Team Mr. Gasket, East Ridge High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Overall average 21:40. Each team member won a $10,000 scholarship that can be used at either the School of Automotive Machinists or Ohio Technical College.