The first half of the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge 2018 Dual Championship took place at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV. It included 27 teams which came from coast to coast to battle to become one of the top four teams to compete in the Elite Eight playoffs for the 2018 National Championship at 1 p.m. during the PRI Show Dec. 4th and 8th.

The five students per team disassemble and reassemble a traditional small block Chevy outfitted with the latest aftermarket parts. Teams must properly disassemble the engine including the removal of all eight pistons, then reassemble it using correct torque and valve adjustment.

Team Custom Automotive Network (CAN), Eastern Oklahoma Technology Center out of Choctaw, OK, came in first place at SEMA with an average time of 18 minutes 35 seconds. They also had the best time of the week at 17:59.

Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning (Team Racequip) had the best written test score - 97%! It was their first year at the Dual National Championship.

Team Canton Racing Products, Lakeshore High School from Stevensville, MI, came in second place with an average time of 19:57. Team Mr. Gasket, C D Hylton High School out of Woodbridge VA, took third place with an average time of 22:42. Team Edelbrock, Hunter High School from West Valley City, UT, came in fourth place with an average time of 23:57. They will be making their first trip to the Elite Eight competition.

These top four teams from the SEMA Show and the top four teams from the PRI Show will then compete head-to-head to earn the champion title of the 2018 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Dual Championship and win scholarship vouchers ranging from $6,500 to $10,000 being provided by Universal Technical Institute (UTI), School of Automotive Machinists (SAM TECH), and Ohio Technical College (OTC).   [11/28/18]

On Friday, Nov. 23, during the Citrus Nationals at Palm Beach International Raceway, Chris King got his Funny Car license at the wheel of the Paul Richards Racing Mustang. We’ll have a look at the Florida classic race later this week.  (Adam Cranmer photo)   [11/28/18]

England’s Santa Pod Raceway launches its 54th consecutive season of high-speed racing action with its annual appearance at January’s mammoth Autosport International show. Santa Pod will be joined on Stand 2680 once again by Lucas Oil Products UK in the show’s new location for this year on the Piazza side of Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre. The show will be held Jan. 10-13.

Center-piece of the stand will be Fireforce 3, the world’s fastest Jet Funny Car. Owner/driver Martin Hill and his crew will be on hand to explain the intricacies of the Pratt & Whitney J60 jet engine that delivers flame-throwing, eardrum-popping afterburner displays before powering the Chevrolet Lumina-bodied machine on a ground-shaking charge through the quarter-mile. In 2005, Fireforce 3 was clocked at 336 mph across the Santa Pod finish line. In 2019, Hill and his crew will be celebrating 30 years of the Fireforce Jet Car brand.

Representing Lucas Oil on the stand will be the Ford Capri-bodied Nostalgia Funny Car of veteran racer Bob Glassup. The car is a key example of the new breed of ‘retro’ machines – built to modern safety standards but retaining the mechanical attributes and style of a bygone era – which nowadays play starring roles on the burgeoning ‘historic’ race schedule epitomized each July by Santa Pod’s ‘Dragstalgia’. [11/28/18]

With water around the facility and more rain in the forecast, the first Moonshine Madness event was cancelled last weekend at Mountain Park Dragway in Clay City, KY.

Dang. The Agent has an old bottle labeled “Kentucky Moon 1939” that he inherited from his father-in-law and was hoping to get it replenished. The track plans to reschedule the drag racing event for late March or early April of next year.    [11/28/18]

Earl's Performance Plumbing has released a large assortment of new products, including a complete line of stainless steel hardline, tube nuts, adapters, and tools. The tubing is made of 304 stainless steel, annealed for easy forming, ideal for all automotive applications, and available in 3/16”, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2", and 5/8” diameters and 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, 72-, and 96-inch lengths. Available in all common sizes – both SAE and metric – the stainless tube nuts and adapters are perfect for brake, clutch, transmission cooler, and fuel systems. The tools are strong enough to stand up to stainless steel but equally suitable for use with all other types of hardline tubing. Four different products are offered – a tubing cutter/deburring tool, a flaring tool compatible with both 45-degree and 37-degree applications (single- and double-flare), a tubing straightener, and a tubing bender.  [11/28/18]