Team Taylor Cable Channels Adversity into Second Place Finish

Jill Arata, the sole female coach to qualify for a Dual Championship playoff spot, was preparing to take two teams to compete at SEMA Team Taylor Cable and Team Edelbrock. Team Edelbrock had already made history by becoming the first all female team (including a female coach) to qualify for the Dual Championship. However, two short weeks before heading to Las Vegas from Belvidere, Illinois, Arata’s son was in a major car accident. Her son happens to be part of the male team, and it quickly became very uncertain whether or not he would be able to compete.

“My guys are all seniors,” told Arata. “They have lives and jobs and girlfriends. Before the accident, they could barely make time for each other. I had never seen these guys pull together and support each other in the way they did after my son’s accident. I knew they would be phenomenal at that point. It was really our defining moment. I saw how amazing these guys truly are, how determined, how passionate.”

Arata’s son did recover well enough to compete, but was still dealing with memory loss and a stutter when it was time to head to the Dual Championship. “My son was confused,” Arata continued. “He’s trying hard to remember. The guys were really understanding and helpful. It was kind of like a parent trying to help a kid walk. These four guys walked him through everything again. He held his own at SEMA though. The way they were all there for each other was really impressive.

“Before my son’s accident everybody did their own job. They weren’t concerned with what anybody else was doing. They would just go as fast as they can doing what they were trained to do. If somebody fell behind they would pick up the slack, but once my son got in the car accident the teamwork just skyrocketed. And that’s what you need. Without being a team and working together there would be no way we could accomplish what we did. It has to be everybody working as one.”

What exactly did Team Taylor Cable accomplish? A second place finish in the SEMA Dual Championship. They completed their performance engine rebuilds in an average time of 22 minutes and 37 seconds, despite Arata’s son’s limitations. “These guys are going to be friends forever. They did more than take second at SEMA. They made friendships and changed themselves completely in those few weeks before they left,” emphasized Arata.

Team Edelbrock came in 11th out of the 22 teams competing at SEMA. Their average time was 28:31. For Arata, being able to field a truly all-female team is something that is deeply personal to her. “When I was in high school I wasn’t allowed to take the shop class because I was a girl,” she explained. “I had to take home ec. And that wasn’t that long ago. It’s really important to me to have this role as coach and be recognized as the female coach of the first national team, because I want other females to look at us and realize they can do it, too. I can bust a motor with my guys at their speed. That’s how I knew I could take a girls team and make them better than some guy teams.”

Team Edelbrock also encountered challenges en route to SEMA, albeit a different variety than that Team Taylor Cable faced. The team suffered a lot of turnover throughout the season, including one member leaving just weeks before SEMA. Arata points out that the girls who placed 11th had only been working together as a team three weeks.

The hard work and dedication being put in by these Belvidere North High School students is making automotive classes a popular choice at the school. Arata says many females are now thinking about careers in the automotive industry.

It’s actually Mr. Arata that teaches automotive at Belvidere North, and the one that first got the family involved with Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

“My husband was invited in 2008 for the very first competition,” Jill explains. “He did it by himself the first year. The second year he moved to the Belvidere area. It was much closer to our home so I started to get involved. I learned the motor and then it turned out I was running practices by myself because he had more work-related things to do. So I was training his team. Once I saw I could do it myself I decided I wanted my own team. He didn’t think I could do it because I’m not very automotively inclined. I can help rebuild engines. I can do brakes. I can rotate tires, the basic stuff. But if you come to me and say my car is making a noise, I’m not going to be able to tell you what’s wrong with it. My automotive knowledge is very limited, but I knew I could do this and I could do it better than my husband could, and I’ve proved that. So I’m all excited.

“I started co-coaching in 2009, and was recognized as the sole coach in 2014. I don’t let him help me. I’d rather do it on my own. Like with my all girls team, I want to be responsible for everything they do. Otherwise, it’s not really an all girls team if I have to ask a man for help. I refuse to let him help me with my girls team. It’s good to actually get the recognition for the work I do, because I’ve been helping and running practices by myself for so long. I handle all the fundraising, the money, the books, the ordering of parts.”

Arata and her team now have one more hurdle to overcome in the 2015 season. She recently underwent reconstructive back surgery and has been sidelined in these weeks leading up to the Engine Challenge Finals at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Still, Arata has great faith in Team Taylor Cable and believes they are up for the challenge.

Taylor Cable’s Susan Weimar is a strong believer in the students and the program overall. “Taylor believes the HROT program is a unique and extraordinary way to promote our young people’s interest and spark a greater passion for the automotive aftermarket industry,” she states. “The opportunity to travel to SEMA and PRI to compete in their area of study and be part of these industry shows is a wonderful incentive. Taylor Cable Products, Inc. has been involved as a sponsor of this program for several years and whether our team makes it to the finals, we believe the learning experience the students receive is invaluable. Being able to participate in the HROT is a great honor and is the one investment/sponsorship of which we are most proud.”

“Hot Rodders of Tomorrow has definitely changed the lives of every kid we’ve ever had on our team,” agreed Arata. “It’s given some of these kids opportunities they would never have had otherwise. One of our guys a few years back got a job offer from Edelbrock. Another kid met the Street Outlaws through competitions and went to Oklahoma and then ended up working with the guy from Grease Monkey. Three of my guys on Team Taylor are solely counting on these scholarships to further their careers. They would not be able to do it otherwise. They owe a lot to Hot Rodders. I owe a lot to Hot Rodders. They helped me fulfill a dream I’ve had since high school.”

Team Taylor will compete this upcoming weekend, December 10-12 in the Engine Challenge Finals, held at the PRI Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. They take on the top seven teams in the nation to determine who will be crowned the 2015 Engine Challenge Champion.