Garage Gurus, an industry-leading training and support platform from Tenneco Inc.’s DRiV group, has announces its support for up-and-coming technicians with its sponsorship of the first U.S. Auto Tech National Championship. A part of the larger Elite Trades Series, the U.S. Auto Tech National Championship will set out to find the top technicians in the country and have them face off against one another for a chance to win more than $200,000 in cash and prizes.

The Garage Gurus-sponsored U.S. Auto Tech National Championship will include in-person qualifying events across six markets in the United States, to be held at Garage Gurus training locations and other partner retail locations, trade schools and high-profile consumer event locations. At these qualifying events, professional and student technicians will compete in a timed, chassis-based challenge to test their repair skills. Each competitor will be scored and judged on overall time, workmanship, and safety by Garage Gurus’ ASE-certified repair professionals and representatives from the University of Northwestern Ohio. 

The top 32 professionals and top 32 students competing in these qualifying events will advance to the National Championship, to be held on Dec. 13-14 in Nashville. Cash awards will be given to the top three finishers in both the professional and student technician categories: $40,000 each for first place winners; $20,000 each for second place winners; and $10,000 each for third place winners. 

Qualifying locations for each competition are:

• Qualifying Tour Event #1 – Lima, Ohio
• Qualifying Tour Event #2 – Chicago, Illinois
• Qualifying Tour Event #3 – Detroit, Michigan
• Qualifying Tour Event #4 – Boston, Massachusetts
• Qualifying Tour Event #5 – Atlanta, Georgia
• Qualifying Tour Event #6 – Springville, Utah

“Garage Gurus has long been both a creator and an ardent supporter of training initiatives and scholarship programs to help technicians improve their skills and develop their careers,” said Rebecca Mahan, executive director, Americas Brand Marketing & Channel Engagement, DRiV. “We are excited to sponsor this competition and help out both existing technicians sharpen their skills, as well as encourage future technicians to continue developing their skills for long-term careers in the automotive aftermarket industry.” 

To learn more about the U.S. Auto Tech National Championships, head to www.usatnc.com for more information. To register for the U.S. Auto Tech National Championship competition at a location near you, click here.