The MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder Showdown features top NASCAR engine builders in a race to build a Sprint® Cup 357-cubic inch Ford racing engine in the shortest time possible. The engine must also run continuously for one minute.
The first round of the Showdown was a timed elimination in which each team raced the clock to qualify for the quarterfinals. During the quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals, the qualifying teams faced each other in a head-to-head competition, with the fastest team in each heat advancing to the next round.
A total of 23 engine builder teams signed up for this year’s contest – including those from almost every NASCAR Sprint® Cup race team, as well as teams from Nationwide® Series and Craftsman® Truck Series races. This marks the second consecutive year that the Showdown has seen a record-breaking number of participating teams. In 2007, a total of 19 NASCAR engine builder teams participated in the Showdown.
Bill McKnight, Team Leader – Training, for MAHLE Clevite says, “The teams that have entered the competition this year are focused not simply on winning the Showdown, but also on breaking last year’s engine build record.”
The Pro Motor Engines team of Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman won the 2007 Showdown with a record-setting time of 16 minutes and 25 seconds, with no penalties. True to McKnight’s prediction, this year’s winning time was 15:59 as the team of Borem and Hoffman repeated their performance with “a clean build.” The winners received the Showdown’s grand prize — the prestigious Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy, plus a cash prize of $26,000. The runner-up team of Jim Snyder and Mike Kasch from Roush Yates Racing Engines received trophies and a $9,000 cash prize.
“Watching these Showdown teams in action is exciting and inspiring,” adds McKnight. “It rekindles your respect and admiration for the skills and mastery of the art of engine building.”
MAHLE Clevite hosts the Engine Builder Showdown at the NASCAR Technical Institute (NTI), in Mooresville, NC, the heart of the NASCAR racing industry. The final round of the competition took place on May 20 before a record-setting crowd of over 2000 spectators.
