Ann Arbor, MI, – Horsepower TV, a leading automotive television series, is devoting a full 30-minute episode on the 2007 MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown. Horsepower TV airs on Spike TV, a leading cable television network popular with automotive and sporting enthusiasts. The Showdown, which was held at the NASCAR® Technical Institute in Mooresville, NC, resulted in a record-breaking engine building effort by Pro Motor Engines’ team of Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman.
The Showdown episode will air twice in December:
• Saturday, December 1, 2007 at noon Eastern Standard Time (EST)
• Sunday, December 2, 2007 at 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Viewers should check local listings for exact time and channel in their area.
The MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown is a tiered four-round competition for professional engine builders who assemble engines for NASCAR teams. Each team of two engine builders competes to build and successfully run a NEXTEL Cup 357-cubic-inch Ford engine in the shortest time possible.
Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman of Pro Motor took the top prize at the 2007 MAHLE Engine Builder Showdown — the Randy Dorton Memorial Trophy and a cash prize of $26,000. Kevin Webber and Scott Vester of Hendrick Motorsports received $9,000 in their runner-up effort.
The 2007 Showdown champions from Pro Motor, runners-up in last year’s Showdown, broke the all-time Showdown record with an engine-build time of 16 minutes and 25 seconds, which included 60 seconds of actual running time, with no penalties. Borem and Hoffman went head-to-head with Hendrick Motorsports’ Kevin Webber and Scott Vester, who finished second with a build time of 17 minutes and 47 seconds, also with no penalties.
Viewers of this Horsepower TV program episode will be able to see MAHLE pistons, Clevite® engine bearings, Victor Reinz® gaskets, and other engine parts installed in a bare engine block. All fasteners must be torqued to spec, and the engine must actually run for 60 seconds to assure proper assembly.
A total of nineteen teams of two competed in this year’s Showdown, representing the leading racing and engine building teams in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing. This represents the largest participation ever in the history of the Showdown.
The Showdown engines have always featured Clevite engine bearings, Victor Reinz gaskets and Perfect Circle piston rings, all official NASCAR Performance Products – the addition of MAHLE pistons and filters now ensures that Showdown competitors have only the highest quality parts throughout the engine.
Many of the advanced engineering technologies MAHLE Clevite develops for their NASCAR Performance Products are utilized in their aftermarket product offerings. Clevite’s exclusive moly-graphite TriArmor™ bearing coating, which helps to ensure longer bearing life, is one example of a NASCAR-inspired technology that is now available to enthusiasts and engine builders. MAHLE Clevite Inc.’s Internet address is www.mahleclevite.com.
