2 Oregon high schoolers top Ford/AAA Auto Skills contest

DEARBORN, Mich. (June 11, 2015) — Two student technicians from Oregon high school took top honors recently in the 2015 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.

The annual contest gathers the nation's top young automotive minds to display their skills and compete for the national title and millions of dollars in scholarships.

Ford said this year's competition featured 100 top automotive technology students from all 50 states, with each state represented by a two-student team and their high school instructor. The competition culminated with the crowning of a national champion on June 9 at Ford Motor Co.'s World Headquarters in Dearborn. The champions were Morgan White and Jay Saunders from Vale High School in Vale, Ore., under the tutelage of instructor Drew Barnes.

For the National Finals, entrants took both a written exam and participated in a timed event where they repaired deliberately-installed “bugs” in identical 2015 Ford Mustang Fastbacks with 3.7L V6 engines. Ford said they used the OTC Encore, a diagnostics tool made by Robert Bosch L.L.C., to identify issues and fix the vehicles.

The competition began in January when nearly 12,000 high school juniors and seniors took an online exam testing their automotive technology knowledge.

In addition to scholarships and prizes, Ford said this year's national champions will gain hands-on experience through a weeklong job shadow experience with auto racing royalty — Wood Brothers Racing's legendary No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion team and driver Ryan Blaney.

The shadowing includes:

• Immersion into the Wood Brothers Racing team as it prepares for the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway — part of the Sprint Cup Series — on July 5;
• Mentoring by Mr. Blaney at both the Wood Brothers Racing shop in Harrisburg, N.C., and also trackside at Daytona; and
• Serving as honorary on-track pit crew members on the No. 21 car under the guidance of Crew Chief Jeremy Bullins.

“Every week it's the drivers who get all the attention on the track,” Mr. Blaney said, “but truthfully, we wouldn't even be able to race if it wasn't for our crew. Our team is the best in the business. They spend their entire week working to keep the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane car in top condition for me to race.”

Founded in 1950, Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team in NASCAR. Ford said the team has won 14 Sprint Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway, more than any other team in the sport.

“The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition is an unparalleled opportunity for the thousands of students across the country who want to break into the industry,” Mr. Blaney added.

“I'm pretty excited to see these National Champions. Although the students are only in high school, they can work on the world's best cars themselves. Who knows, maybe one of these students will end up on our pit crew!”

For more information on the Auto Skills Competition, visit its website.