The AAM Group, through its Parts Pro marketing program, presented the brand new Excellence Cup honoring the Fastest Overall Perfect Engine Build Winner to Team Fragola from Peach County High School, Georgia, coached by Johnny Rickerson, at the 2016 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Dual National Championships in Indianapolis.
This capped of AAM’s pledge to honor every team building a perfect engine in the Elite 8 competitions held at the SEMA and PRI Shows.
AAM created The Excellence Cup as a perpetual award that will be kept and displayed by the winning school for one year and then transferred annually to the fastest perfect engine building team among the Elite 8 teams. The base will be inscribed with the team’s name and school of all past winners as a perpetual recognition of their accomplishments.
AAM Program Sales Manager Jerry Simpson presented the awards at the season-finale event conducted at PRI. Teams that achieved at least one perfect engine build at one of the Dual National Championship events were awarded a plaque, while the team that clocked the fastest overall perfect engine was awarded with the Excellence Cup.
Elite 8 Perfect Engine Build Honorees
• Team Fragola, Peach County High School, Georgia
(Instructor: Johnny Rickerson) (Excellence Cup winner)
• Team Aeromotive, Fremd High School, Illinois
(Instructor: Steven Elza)
• Team Be Cool, Elkhart Area Career Center, Indiana
(Instructor: Ryan Gortney)
• Team Comp Cams, Burton Center for Arts & Technology Pennsylvania
(Instructor: Chris Overfelt)
• Team Holley, Forsyth Central High School, Georgia
(Instructor: Marlo Miranda)
• Team Howards Cams, Belvidere North High School, Illinois
(Instructor: Jill Arata)
• Team Taylor, Fremd High School, Illinois
(Instructor: Steven Elza)
“Parts Pro is proud to recognize the teamwork, effort, and skill required to achieve a perfect engine build,” said AAM Group Program Sales Manager Jerry Simpson. “A remarkable seven of the eight teams competing had at least one perfect build and six of those seven had two of three rounds judged perfect. Parts Pro wanted to recognize this extraordinary display of quality consistency and commitment. Award winners include the Howard’s Cams team of Belvidere North High School, the first all-girl team to make Dual
Championship and builders of four perfect engines during the two competitions! We are honored to work with these inspiring students, and hope this recognition will encourage future participating teams to aspire to the highest levels of precision, pride and expertise in our industry.”
Automotive Accessories Marketing USA Inc. (The AAM Group) is one of the largest distribution groups in the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) marketplace. Now in its 29th year, the corporation was founded by eight high-performance warehouse distributors that sought to achieve cooperative scaled purchasing and marketing advantages. The AAM Group now counts 24 member-companies operating 35 distribution centers throughout North America.
