Team WELD Racing has earned the title of 2015 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge National Champions, led by instructor Jim LaFevers with a team of automotive students from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center. The national championship, which pits teams from across the country in performance engine rebuilds, recently concluded at the 2015 PRI Show in Indianapolis after qualifying events were held throughout the year.

Posting an average time of 18 minutes and 19 seconds in the engine challenge, which requires a complete teardown and rebuild, allowed Team Weld Racing to take the crown. Teams from the school in Choctaw, Oklahoma, have been consistent high finishers in the competition being just one torque wrench penalty away from winning last year, after capturing the title in 2013.

“We are proud of the students from Eastern Oklahoma Tech Center for representing WELD Racing and for winning against outstanding competition from automotive students across the country,” said Norm Young, president and CEO of WELD. “We are strong supporters of programs like the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow that encourage young people to pursue careers in our industry.”

WELD has been a HROT supporter since 2013.

For their championship, each of the students received a $10,000 scholarship to the post-secondary institution of their choice from Ohio Technical College, University of Northwest Ohio, Universal Technical Institute/NASCAR Tech or School of Automotive Machinists. The schools allow stacking of scholarships, meaning any of the awards from previous competitions can be combined for the winning student’s educational needs.

The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) program started in 2008 with five teams competing. This year, 153 teams competed in regional competitions for the right to claim a share of the more than $4 million offered by the educational institutions. Each team has a sponsor assigned, coming from the pool of HROT supporters.