Four teams have emerged from fierce
competition in the first two rounds of the eighth annual MAHLE Engine
Builder Showdown, and are now headed for the semi-finals on May 22.
ANN ARBOR, MI. - Four teams have emerged from fierce
competition in the first two rounds of the eighth annual MAHLE Engine
Builder Showdown, and are now headed for the semi-finals on May 22.
Presented by MAHLE Clevite Inc., this year's Showdown saw a record 19
teams enter the competition to build and run a NEXTEL(R) Cup
357-cubic-inch Ford engine in the shortest time.
Competing in this year's Showdown semi finals set for May 22 at the NASCAR Technical Institute (NTI) in Mooresville, N.C. are:
* Robert Scott and Matt Flogel from Bill Davis Racing (build time of 19.09 min.) versus
* Kevin Webber and Scott Vester from Hendrick Motorsports (build time of 18.13 min.)
* Jim Snyder and Mike Robinson from Roush Yates Racing Engines (build time of 19.15 min.)versus
* Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman from Pro Motor Engineering (build time of 17.34 min.)
The two winning teams will face each other on May 23 at the Showdown
The MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown is a tiered, four-round competition
that highlights the knowledge, skills and most of all, the speed of
professional engine builders who assemble special performance engines
for NASCAR teams. In each round of the competition, the goal is to
build, in the shortest time possible, a complete engine and successfully
run it for one minute. All competition is held at NTI.
The first round of the Showdown is a timed elimination round in which
each team builds against the clock in order to qualify for the
quarter-finals. During the quarter, semi-finals and finals, the
qualifying teams face each other in a head-to-head competition with the
fastest team advancing to the next round. Rounds one and two of the 2007
competition were held May 1, 2 and 3.
The 19 NASCAR engine builder teams who participated in the opening rounds of the competition included:
* Penske Racing: Kelley Thacker and Chris Moroch
* Ganassi Racing: Mike Lanci and Jesse Hardee; Brad Thrower and Todd Hamm
* Dale Earnhardt, Inc.: Joe London and Mark Purvis; Bill Brunker and Shawn Redwine
* Bill Davis Racing: Robert Scott and Matt Flogel
* Toyota Racing Development: Mike DiMascio and Ben Morris
* Arrington Manufacturing: Chris Seidle and Chris Martin
* Roush Yates Engines: Randy Ping and Mike Kasch; David Hamm and Kent Mashburn; Jim Snyder and Mike Robinson; Trey Davis and Mike Buttrick
* Pro Motor Engineering: Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman
* Hendrick Motorsports: Mike Maiwald and Shane Parsnow; Kevin Webber and Scott Vester; Jay Wiles and Jason Ingle
* Richard Childress Racing: Greg Gunnell and Wes Adams; Ken Swanson and Timmy Petty; Freddie Turza and Cameron Brown
On May 23, the winning team will receive the prestigious Randy Dorton
Memorial Trophy plus a total cash prize of $26,000 from Mahle Clevite
Inc. The runners-up will receive a total of $9,000. Overall, Mahle
Clevite Inc. awards Showdown contestants a total prize package of over
"The MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder Showdown has a become a significant
venue for the NASCAR engine builder teams to showcase their talents,"
says Bill McKnight, who is responsible for brand development at MAHLE
Clevite Inc. "This year's event has attracted more teams, and more
rookie teams, than in the past seven years - from several of the engine
builder shops that serve NASCAR(R) NEXTEL(R) Cup, Busch and Craftsman
In building the Showdown engines, the NASCAR teams use MAHLE Clevite
engine parts such as Clevite bearings, Perfect Circle(R) piston rings and
Victor Reinz(R) gaskets - all of which are official NASCAR Performance
MAHLE Clevite's McKnight says, "The quality of the work we do for
NASCAR(R) ultimately determines the design, engineering and quality of our
performance engine parts for enthusiasts."
MAHLE Clevite Inc. is one of the world's largest suppliers of pistons,
valve train parts, engine bearings, piston rings, and engine gaskets.
MAHLE Clevite brands include MAHLE Original(R) pistons, assemblies,
valves, cylinder liners, Clevite(R) engine bearings and engine parts,
Victor Reinz(R) gaskets and Perfect Circle(R) piston rings. In addition,
Clevite(R), Victor Reinz(R) and Perfect Circle(R) are official NASCAR(R)
Performance Products. MAHLE Clevite's Internet address is