The love of racing and performance is something that for many is developed at an early age. That’s the philosophy of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, which works to expose kids of all ages to the workmanship behind complex mechanisms.

Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Junior Engine Challenged kicked off its second season Feb. 24-25 at the Race and Performance Expo in Schaumburg, Illinois.

The contest is simple: A team composed of two individuals (one team member must be 5-18 years of age) must completely disassemble/reassemble a complete single cylinder OHV engine utilizing only basic hand tools.

“Some of the goals of the premise behind this contest are to help individuals develop great communication skills and self-esteem,” according to a press release from Hot Rodders of Tomorrow. “The contest also has a goal of helping youngsters develop great problem-solving skills and an understanding of an internal combustion engine.

“Over the course of the two-day RP Expo we proceeded to have the engines ran through over 72 times, with kids waiting for over an hour to have a chance to develop and showcase their skills at tackling and perfecting the teams rebuilding skills on the small engine.”

Several youngsters returned to the event after seeing it at last year’s RP Expo.

The next event will be featured as part of the Hot Rodder of Tomorrow at the Piston Power show in Cleveland, March 16-18. Students will be able to demo and be trained on the single cylinder engine.

For more information, visit HotRoddersofTomorrow.com or contact Rodney Bingham at RBingham@hotroddersoftomorrow.com or call 815-722-5460.