Kenny Burns, machine shop manager for Harry’s Machine Works, Inc., Dodge City, KS, has won the 2007 MAHLE Clevite Machinist of the Year Award.
Burns is an ASE Master Engine Machinist. He is ASE-certified as a cylinder head specialist, cylinder block specialist and engine assembly specialist, and is also a member of the Engine Rebuilders Association (AERA).
An accomplished professional, Burns has 20 years of industry experience, all of them with Harry’s Machine Works. He started at the shop as a vat boy and moved on to become proficient in every aspect of the business, including cylinder head reconditioning, engine block boring and honing, connecting rod reconditioning, crankshaft grinding and polishing, engine balancing, crack repair and other engine rebuilding processes.
Through his work, Burns is a strong supporter of area race tracks. Additionally, he was a member of a sprint car pit crew for 17 years. Burns resides with his wife, Kim, and their three children, Joshua, Haley and Skyler, in Jetmore, KS.
Now in its 18th year, the MAHLE Clevite Machinist of the Year Award program is designed to recognize and honor an ASE-certified automotive engine machinist judged to be outstanding for his skills and contributions to the industry and his local community.
In winning the MAHLE Clevite Machinist of the Year Award, Burns received an all-expense-paid trip for two to the Performance Racing Industry Show in Orlando, FL, including $500 spending money; an all-expense-paid trip for one to Charlotte, NC, which includes a VIP Tour of NASCAR Technical Institute, a day on track Jeff Gordon Racing School Driving Experience at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and a day on the dyno with Pro Motor’s Dennis Borem and Darrell Hoffman, learning some of their engine building secrets.
Harry’s Machine Works was 2002 Engine Builder’s “Machine Shop of the Year,” and produced the second Machinist of the Year, Russell Rogers, more than 15 years ago. Rogers, who also was shop manager when he won the award, then bought the shop. He died suddenly in April 2004.
For more information about MAHLE Clevite, go to www.mahleclevite.com.
