Mooresville, N.C.--Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman of Pro Motor Engines wasted no time as they racked up a 15-minute and 59-second build to win the 2008 Mahle Engine Builder Showdown on May 20.
They came away with the Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy and a cash prize of $26,000, as well as bragging rights for another year--they are winners two years in a row, having taken last year's top prize with a 16:25 build.
Runners-up Mike Kasch and Jim Snyder of Roush Yates Racing Engines received $9,000. Kasch was a winner at the first Engine Builder Showdown held nine years ago.
The final round of the 2008 Engine Builder Showdown, hosted by Mahle Clevite Inc., took place at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., on May 20 before a crowd of several thousand.
"Last year we felt a 16:25 build would be hard to top or even equal. But this year's event, with a record 15:59 build, was simply amazing," said Jesse Jones, manager of Marketing for Mahle Clevite Inc. A record 23 teams from 10 of the best known NASCAR engine shops took part in the competition.
The Engine Builder Showdown is a tiered four-round competition for professional engine builders who assemble race engines for NASCAR teams. Participating teams--two engine builders per team--vie to build and successfully run a Sprint Cup 357-cubic-inch Ford Engine in the shortest time possible.
Winners of the 2008 Showdown, the Pro Motor Engines team of Borem and Hoffman, were runners-up in the 2006 Showdown before winning the 2007 event.
Borem said he has worked on muscle cars since he was in high school. He said his interest in stock car racing and road racing fueled his passion for building engines for NASCAR. He has 25 years of experience in engine building and has been with Pro Motor for 23 years.
Hoffman said his interest in engine building began with racing dirt cars. He has 20 years of experience in engine building and has been at Pro Motor Engines for five years.