(September 14, 2016) HOUSTON — After a successful inaugural year, Quaker State is launching the next installment of the "Best in Class Challenge," a six-week automotive education competition featuring high school auto shop classes across the United States.

Each school's team is charged with the task of tuning, restoring and customizing a pre-owned car into a pristine, creative representation of their school. The competition will consist of online voting, six weeks of automotive challenges, hands-on education, distinguished judges, participation in a Barrett-Jackson vehicle auction for the grand prize winner and of course, great prizes.

"After we experienced such excitement and strong participation numbers during last year's Quaker State 'Best in Class Challenge,' we knew we had to bring it back! We're honored to be able to offer this top-notch educational program once again to high school auto shop students from across the United States," said Laura Jaime, Quaker State North American marketing manager.

"The competition will offer these students the opportunity to hone their tuning and customization skills while being mentored by top automotive experts in the field."

From Sept. 12-25, approximately 55 semi-finalist schools will be responsible for securing as many votes as possible to be nominated for the "Best in Class Challenge." The team with the most votes from each of the five markets will then become finalists and will move on to the next stage of the competition comprised of six weeks of automotive challenges beginning Oct. 11. To start casting votes (one per person, per day) and to read the complete program rules, click here.

To kick off the competition, the top five schools will each receive a pre-owned vehicle valued at up to $3,000. For this year's competition, Quaker State has once again teamed up with AutoZone. Teams will be given $2,000 to be used at their local AutoZone retailer to purchase the supplies and tools they'll need for success in the competition. Students will be scored on their progress at the end of each week of the competition based on the quality of their work and their overall final product. Additionally, the teams will have to secure online votes each week, which will be factored into their final scores as well.

This year's judges include Tommy Pike, owner of Tommy Pike Customs as lead judge, and Sung Kang, actor, producer and car enthusiast. Judging criteria ranges from general engine maintenance to creativity and quality of the vehicle's body work and customizations. Throughout the competition, these automotive industry leaders will have the opportunity to mentor and provide guidance to each team of high school students.

"I am honored to be back working with Quaker State for the second year of the 'Best in Class Challenge'," said Pike, who is known for his modern muscle performance and cutting edge customizations.

"I was impressed with and inspired by last year's teams from their creativity, imagination, perseverance and stick–to–itiveness. Not only do I have the opportunity to mentor these future automotive professionals, but I also look forward to encouraging the passion, creativity and work ethic that the next generation of car enthusiasts will be developing."