Zachary Thornton and Eric Allinder, Automotive Technology students, have won the right to compete in the "Hands-On" Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Quality Care Challenge.
The contest will feature 10 two-person teams from 10 schools with automotive technology programs and will be held on May 7 at the Kansas City Speedway. The teams will race against the clock to diagnose and repair deliberately "bugged" 2009 Ford vehicles. At stake is more than $150,000 in scholarships to technical colleges and a trip to Dearborn, Michigan to represent Missouri in the National Finals in June at Ford's world headquarters.
Zachary and Eric qualified for the state finals by competing in a written exam open to all automotive technology students in high schools throughout Missouri. John Arndt is the students' instructor and will accompany the students to the contest.