Horsepower was on display Thursday at the Warren County Area Technology Center, but it was brainpower that took center stage.

The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce wrapped up the second year of its On Track motorsports initiative by awarding the On Track Grudge Match championship trophy to the Warren County ATC, but representatives of both the ATC and Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College said the program’s learning component was more important than the competition.

“This program created a real-life project that students are excited about,” said Warren County ATC Principal Eric Keeling, who accepted the big trophy for the second time. “Normally, in the principal role, you deal with discipline issues. With this project, I deal with students who are excited about moving forward with the project.”

The project gave the ATC’s students the opportunity to rebuild a 1980 Corvette that was donated by the National Corvette Museum, using high-performance products that prepared the car to compete in last month’s Holley LS Fest against a car rebuilt by SKyCTC students.

Both the Corvette and the 1994 Camaro worked on by SKyCTC students were put through tests of speed and handling at Beech Bend Raceway and the NCM Motorsports Park. The Corvette came out on top, but SKyCTC Vice President of Finance and Administration Chris Cumens said his students gained more than a trophy through the experience of working on the Camaro donated by the late Ken Stirn of Scottsville.

“Whether we walk away with a trophy or not, it’s a victory for those kids,” Cumens said. “We had to scramble the last 30 days to get it together. That created such a tight team. The STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lessons were important, but the character they developed was extremely satisfying.”

Learning about the STEM disciplines and career opportunities in the automotive industry were the main goals of the On Track program when the chamber’s motorsports committee created it in 2015.

Through corporate sponsorships and selling last year’s cars for a total of $74,000 at the Mecum Indianapolis Auction, On Track has become a self-sustaining program that chamber President and CEO Ron Bunch expects to continue growing.

“We have generated more in sales (at the Mecum auction) than we put into the cars,” Bunch said. “Partners have come to us when they see the value of the program.”

This year, the chamber benefitted from a $70,000 grant from the Lightweight Innovation for Tomorrow organization. Thanks to that grant, students were able to focus on increasing performance through lightweighting and other advanced techniques that introduced them to careers in advanced and lightweight metals manufacturing.

That grant and other sponsorships allowed students such as Alan Bucy to get an educational experience that transcends classroom learning.

“Honestly, it was pretty amazing to be able to stand next to a car that you helped build and watch it perform on the track,” said Bucy, a South Warren High School student. “Not many high school students get to do that.”

Both cars will be auctioned at the Mecum event again in 2018, but first they will participate in another aspect of the On Track program. Bunch explained that the cars will be taken to local middle and elementary schools, where younger students will learn about On Track.

As the program grows, Bunch said, the chamber plans to cement the On Track curriculum into a portable model and expand the competition to other southcentral Kentucky schools.