Top wrenches vie for Clevite Showdown title

Imagine putting together a race-ready engine in less than 19 minutes.

Mike Maiwald and Shane Parshnow can -- and have done it twice in competition.

The two Hendrick Motorsports team members -- and finalists for the Clevite Engine Builder Showdown in 2005 -- shattered their own record in this year's preliminary rounds by building an engine in 18 minutes, 45 seconds earlier this month.

That moved them into the third round of the Showdown, along with Chris Moroch and Mark Cuzzen of Penske-Jasper Engines, Randy Ping and Mike Kasch of Roush-Yates Racing Engines, and Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman of Pro Motor Engineering.

Each of the four semifinalists earned $1,500 cash awards and are eligible for a $2,000 award if they advance to the championship round.

The finals will be held at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., on May 23 and is open to the public. The winning team gets $20,000, while the runners-up take home $5,000.

For race fans, it's the perfect opportunity to get an inside look at one the most unique competitions in professional racing today, watching NASCAR's top engine builders race head to head to build an engine from the block up.

Clevite Engine Parts has sponsored the event since 1990.

"For years NASCAR drivers and crew chiefs got all the attention, but Clevite recognized that they would not exist if it weren't for the people under the hood building the power plants," said Ted Hughes, Light Vehicle Brand Manager for Clevite 77, Victor Reinz, Perfect Circle. "So along with the Engine Builder of the Year, Clevite presents the Engine Builder Showdown to shed some light on the true hidden heroes of NASCAR."

You can check out Showdown highlights on SPEED or click here.