Pro Motor Engines once again made history Thursday, capturing their fourth consecutive MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown championship with a record-breaking build time.
In a fierce neck-and-neck battle, the Pro Motor Engines team of Josh Hypes and Matt Jackling built a complete Chevrolet R07 race engine and successfully ran it for one minute in an astounding 18 minutes, 3 seconds, beating last year’s record by over a minute and defeating the Hendrick Motorsports team of Mike Maiwald and Scott Vester.
Team Hendrick Motorsports and team Pro Motor were neck-and-neck in the competition, with Pro Motor firing their engine first. Maiwald and Vester were close behind, but while their engine was running during the mandatory one minute, it became silent at the 57-second mark due to a disconnected fuel line. Hendrick reconnected and re-fired their engine, ending with a final build time of 20 minutes, 1 second.
"This competition is intense, no question about it," said Hypes referring to the MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown, which took place as part of "NASCAR Rev’d Up," a kick off event for All Star Race Week in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. "This was our first year representing Pro Motor after Dennis (Borem) and Darrell (Hoffman) took the championship the previous three years in a row. We are thrilled to win it again."
"We gave it our best," said Maiwald of the runner-up team. "Even though we lost, we still feel pretty good for making it to the final round. We want to say thanks to MAHLE for continuing to host this competition and for their support of the engine builders."
Former crew chiefs Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds hosted the MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown, which is a tiered, three-round competition designed to recognize the knowledge, skill and speed of professional engine builders who assemble special performance engines for NASCAR teams.
A total of six teams competed. Joining Pro Motor Engines and Hendrick Motorsports were: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, Penske Racing Engines, Triad Racing Technologies, and 2009 runner-up Roush-Yates Engines.
"This is another MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown that will go down in history," said Bill McKnight, Team Leader – Training for MAHLE Clevite. "It was an exciting competition from the very start, and Hypes and Jackling’s record-breaking build time for a fourth Pro Motor championship is something to be very proud of. Both teams should be proud of their accomplishments."
2010 MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown champions, Hypes and Jackling took home a cash prize for their efforts and will have their name engraved on the prestigious Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy.
