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COURTESY FORD / AAA STUDENT AUTO SKILLS COMPETITION
Devin Vea, left, teacher Neill Nakamura and Chayce Mimura hold their trophy after finishing fifth in the Ford/AAA Auto Skills Championship.
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Maui High School students Chayce Mimura and Devin Vea placed fifth Tuesday in the Ford/AAA Auto Skills Championship in Dearborn, Mich.
The 65th annual competition pitted two-member student teams from all 50 states against each other in a written test, as well as the clock, to perfectly repair identically bugged vehicles. The Maui students were accompanied to Michigan by their teacher, Neill Nakamura.
Maui High students have been to the nationals at least 17 times, placed in the top 10 for the past decade and won national titles in 1995 and 2000.
Beginning with a shotgun start, students raced to their vehicles, repaired the problems, closed the hood, fired up their engines and drove their vehicles across the finish line.
First-place finishers were Justin Bublitz and Colt Morris from Wisconsin’s Grafton High School. Top finishers will share in $10 million in scholarships and prizes.
"For today’s automotive technicians, being able to diagnose and repair a computer-related malfunction is just as critical as fixing mechanical failures," Marshall Doney, AAA chief operating officer, said in a statement. "As a generation that has grown up with digital technology, this year’s students are uniquely qualified to lead the auto industry forward."
