With NASCAR Season Over, Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown Takes Center Stage
While Hendrick Motorsports didn't ultimately land a 15th NASCAR Cup Series championship in the organization's 40th anniversary season, the team isn't quite done celebrating it's ruby anniversary. This week, Hendrick Motorsports mechanics will be paired with Hendrick Automotive Group technicians in the 23rd annual Randy Dorton Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown.
The contest, which is held over two days at the Hendrick Motorsports campus, will be to see who can build an engine the fastest, but it will also be about strengthening the bond between the two sides of the Hendrick empire -- the Motorsports team and the Automotive Group.
"The energy around this event, and the exclusive opportunity to spend time with [Hendrick] Motorsports makes it extra special for [Hendrick Automotive Group]," Roger Meisimore explained to Racing America on SI. "But Mr. Hendrick had a vision, a dream. He wanted to do something that nobody else is doing in the industry and bring recognition to technicians at another level, and we try to make it better every year."
While many talented mechanics have competed in this prestigious event over the years, two stand above the rest. Danny Emmerick, the defending champion of this event, and Scott Vester, who will compete in this event for the final time this week, are both six-time champions of the Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown, and last year, they had an epic showdown as they found themselves battling against each other for the championship.
Emmerick, and his Hendrick Automotive Group technician, took the honor by less than a second. While the format doesn't guarantee a showdown between Vester and Emmerick in the final build, there is hope that a re-match of last year's ultra-close finale can be repeated.
"We're super excited to see potentially those guys go head-to-head again," Meisimore said. "It all depends on the draw, it all depends on how the build-offs go that lead off to the championship. But you know, Scott, and Danny and all of those guys over there, they're really good about studying previous film, previous video to capture best practices. Maybe capture some things that you shouldn't do, but overall how to improve, right? And to get quicker."
When you watch the Engine Builder Showdown, it's quite a compelling show. You see the mechanics working in a near-surgical manner as they assemble the engines, all while wrenches are clanking, and ratchets are ratcheting at a fevered pace, and the mechanics call out components and tools they need.
Before you know it, the engines are flipped over, the final touches are put in, and the engines are fired up, and that patented throaty NASCAR motor growl rings out for 60 seconds.
According to Meisimore, it takes both sides of the team working together to achieve a fast time in the showdown builds, and a big part of the performance comes from how good the Hendrick Motorsports mechanics are at laying out a strategy for their Hendrick Automotive Group teammates.
"They're really good about, as soon as they're paired with a Hendrick Automotive Group partner, going ahead and talking about strategy, talking about what makes the most sense for the assignment. You go into this thing as an automotive tech, and you need to know the assignments that you're going to have through this build. Danny and Scott are such experts that they know what difficult task that they should keep in their hands and do the best with. But they're so competitive, they make it so much fun, and they really go with it full-hearted. It's an amazing thing to see."
The Randy Dorton Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown is a team-building exercise on steroids, and it's one of a plethora of events throughout the year, which showcase the family atmosphere between Rick Hendrick's two companies -- Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group.
"Well, it is, and it's certainly something that the Hendrick family promotes and creates. I mean, we would never be able to do it unless they built this culture of a family atmosphere, and we're so grateful for that," Meisimore said. "The Hendrick family loves to take care of our teammates and treat them like family. No matter how large we get, we always want to have those special events where we can get together and have that camaraderie, and you know have fun together. Do things for the community together, and just keep that family atmosphere going. It really helps with chemistry, and bonding, and motivating each other, enriching each other. It's a great environment to work in and play in."
The first day of the Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown is currently underway on Wednesday, November 13, and can be streamed on HendrickEBS.com, where all off the qualifier engine builds can be watched on Days one and two of the showdown. The championship final engine build will be available to watch for free on RacingAmerica.tv on Thursday, November 14 at 2 PM ET.
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.