2025 Mopar CAP Bracket Challenge National Championship

Students in Metropolitan Community College’s Mopar program are punching their ticket to Auburn Hills, Michigan, to compete in the final round of 2025 Mopar CAP Bracket Challenge.

Nearly 100 schools across the country were eligible to compete in the challenge, which focuses exclusively on vehicles in the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT family.

Nathan Kraemer, Daniel Grabowski, Nick Smith and Connor Jensen were selected to represent MCC based off their performance in class and while at work with industry partners.

Last year — the first year of the Bracket Challenge — the MCC team made it to the third round but were defeated by State University of New York (Morrisville, N.Y.), the eventual national champion.

“Every time we do a competition we learn what we can do to improve our program,” said Chad Woodworth, MCC Mopar CAP instructor.

This year, Kraemer and Grabowski scored higher than Kirtland Community College (Grayling, Mich.) during the third round in Kansas City, earning the team a spot in the final.

“We were surprised we made it,” Kraemer said. “I’m just honestly grateful to be a part of this.”

The final round will see two students from both MCC and Eastern Maine Community College (Bangor, Maine) tackle HVAC, electrical and engine performance repair challenges.

Kraemer, who is 19 and in his second year in the Mopar CAP program, didn’t always plan on working with cars. He originally attended college in St. Louis as a music education major.

“It really wasn’t for me. But I had a couple buddies who said I should try this, and here we are,” he said.

Between taking classes at MCC and working for Sid Dillon Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Lincoln, Kraemer was also planning a wedding with his fiancée.

“There were a couple of long nights because I also live in Lincoln. I would go to work and then to class, and there were a couple of nights we left the school after training around 10 o’clock,” he said.

He is looking forward to reviewing the scorecards from the previous round to determine what mistakes were made and how they can “tighten it up a little.”

If they take the win on behalf of the MCC Mopar program, the school will receive a 2018 Dodge Demon to showcase at the Automotive Technology Center and a fully stocked Mac Tools utility cart valued at $10,000.

The winning students will also receive a letter of recommendation from Mopar.

“That would be a shiny diamond on my résumé, and it would set me up pretty well for my career,” Kraemer said.

For MCC, the win would reinforce the program’s reputation with local industry partners. The program currently has a 100% employment rate.

Visit mccneb.edu/Mopar-CAP to learn more about the automotive programs offered at MCC.