Out of 12 Hendrick Certified Master Technicians, Marock and Vester finished their engine build with a record breaking time of 21:19, beating the 2009 record time by a 1:38.
The Randy Dorton Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown is a competition in which 12 Hendrick Certified Master Technicians team up to compete against each other to build an engine in the shortest time possible. Each team consists of two participants, one Hendrick Motorsports Employee and one Hendrick Automotive Group dealership employee. To qualify for the competition you have to be a Hendrick Certified Master Technician and pass a special ASE test that is administered. Marock and runner up Kurk Lowry of Superior Lexus in Liberty, MO get to be VIP guests at the 2011 Coca-Cola 600.
All teams use tools and equipment supplied by MAHLE Clevite Inc. to assemble and run a NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevrolet engine for over one minute. The team doing this in the shortest amount of time after any penalty deductions is the winner. On average most teams complete their engines in less than 40 minutes a task that typically takes 40 hours to complete. Last year’s winning duo assembled and fired their engine in 22 minutes and 57 seconds, shattering the 2008 championship time of 27:05.
Robert Marock has been a technician for the last 20 years and has worked at Honda of Concord for the past 6 years. He is a Hendrick Certified Master Technician and has qualified and participated in the Engine Builder Showdown for the past 3 years. In 2008 he finished in 12th place. In 2009 he finished in 4th place.