What went wrong with the engine?
Lets face it, these A series engines are very well known & have been built as race engines with great success for decades, so building a strong engine is almost a process of connecting the dots these days.

Generally speaking, they are so good that as long as there is oil in the pan, you can't break the bottom end, so something wasn't right.
Hopefully he will make a good showing with the replacement engine & proudly fly the flag right to the last hurrah.