Ohio Technical College donates $125,000 in scholarships to 'Hot Rodders of Tomorrow'

Ohio Technical College (OTC) has donated $125,000 in scholarships to high school students who participated in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge National Championship during the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, recently held in Las Vegas.

The scholarships are redeemable toward enrollment at either OTC or its branch campus the PowerSport Institute (PSI).

OTC awarded the five members of Team Fel-Pro, from Joliet Central High School (Joliet, Ill.), with $10,000 individual scholarships for their victory in "The Showdown at SEMA" championship, taking just 44:22 to take apart and reassemble a high-performance Chevy 350 engine. The five members of Team MSD, from Elkhart Area Career Center (Elkhart, Ind.), were each awarded $7,500 scholarships."OTC is thrilled to have an opportunity to be a part of this event, and we congratulate all four teams for reaching the finals," says Tom King, director of enrollment management, OTC. "Along with such a great organization as the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, OTC is proud to invest in and contribute to the future of the automotive industry."

To qualify for the championship round, Team Fel-Pro and Team MSD eliminated teams Hedman Hedders, from Loara High School (Anaheim, Calif.), and Edelbrock, from Van Buren Tech Center (Lauren, Mich.), respectively. Team Hedman Hedders won third place and its members each earned $5,000 scholarships, while Team Edelbrock members received $2,500 each.

The student technicians, who were only permitted to use hand tools during the timed competition, were judged for proper dismantling and reassembly. Time penalties were given for team mistakes, such as dropped components, broken parts or poor performance.

More information about the competition is available at www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com, ohiotechnicalcollege.com and psi-now.com.