Sam VandenHeede has been working on cars all his life, but he’s never done anything quite like this.

VandenHeede is the newest member of the Niles High School Hot Rodders of Tomorrow team.

Under the direction of instructor Gary Kind, the eight-member team prepares for and participates in timed engine building competitions, sponsored by Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

“It’s a ton of fun. It’s just something totally different in high school,” VandenHeede said. “I’ve learned a lot.”

In the competitions, the students have to completely disassemble and properly reassemble a small block 350 Chevy engine, while judges watch their every move. Time is added for every mistake the judges catch.

“It’s definitely a high pressure situation,” Kind said. “They’re definitely breathing down their necks.”

The team has seen remarkable improvement since it formed three years ago.

“A couple of years ago we had the slowest time in the entire nation,” Kind said. “But this year we have cut our time down by 100 minutes.”

Most recently the team finished as runner-up at a regional competition June 24-26 in Carlisle, Pa., finishing in a time of 82 minutes. The team finished seventh at a competition in Watervliet in May.

The team’s goal for next year is to win a regional tournament and advance to the national competition in Las Vegas where the winners earn full-ride college scholarships.

Kind says the program doesn’t just teach the students valuable automotive skills.

“The thing that is really cool about this is they are not only trying to promote an interest in auto mechanics, but they’re trying to build teamwork and getting along with each other,” Kind said.

It’s also worth it for the participants financially. Members of the team have raked in more than $20,000 in college scholarship money for their performance in the competitions this year.

For more information about Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, visit www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com.