MAHLE Aftermarket awarded the “Choice of Champions” grand prize at the 2023 Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX). A Jeep Gladiator, built by Casey Currie and CRC, and a 1,000 HP Z06 Corvette, built by Richard Petty and the technicians at Petty’s Garage, were the two vehicles of choice up for grabs for that year’s promotion.

MAHLE unveiled its grand prize and introduced the four “Choice of Champions” finalists during a special press conference on Tuesday, October 31st at 10:00 a.m. in booth A2661.

“We added a new twist to how we selected this year’s winner and enlisted the help of several of our key sponsors to make it happen during our VIP reception on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. at the MAHLE booth,” said Jon Douglas, President, MAHLE Aftermarket North America. Several motorsports legends were scheduled to be in attendance to assist MAHLE with this once-in-a-lifetime drawing, including Currie, Petty, and John Force, Championship NHRA Funny Car Racer.

That year’s four finalists of the “MAHLE: The Choice of Champions” technician promotion were as follows:

• Mark Stottlemyer, Harrisburg, PA of Sonny’s Auto Service Center
• Lance Barnum, Park Rapids, MN of Advanced Automotive Service
• Andrey Shumylo, Southampton, PA of Shums Auto Repair
• Bob Mattliano, Brick, NJ of Shore Point Auto

The winner is…

Bob Mattliano. (Pictured right above.) He chose the Corvette.

“It was awesome teaming up with Casey Currie and Richard Petty to engineer these one-of-a-kind vehicles,” Douglas said. “The technicians from both organizations truly ‘pulled out all the stops’ to design and customize these incredible vehicles with our components. There was no place better to reveal these vehicles and celebrate our grand prize winner than at AAPEX.”

Off-road-ready, and manufactured with advanced MAHLE parts, the highly personalized Casey Currie Jeep Gladiator was engineered to provide its driver and passengers with the ultimate off-road experience. The Richard Petty Z06 Corvette was built with speed and sophistication in mind, backed with 1,000 horsepower to give the individual behind the wheel that added boost of adrenaline on the road and endorsed by the John Force Racing team.

In addition to the excitement surrounding the “MAHLE: Choice of Champions” technician promotion, those planning to attend that year’s show could have expected to discover MAHLE’s full line of aftermarket parts, including pistons, rings, gaskets, engine bearings, filters, rotating electric, thermal management, and shop solutions. The AAPEX show took place from October 31 to November 2 at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.