SEMA officials have chosen nine winners to advance onto the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition at the 2019 SEMA Show, Nov. 5-8 in Las Vegas, Nev. In addition, they've selected 21 young builders to vie for a chance to win the final, 10th spot as a SEMA Young Guns Regional Winner through a public vote that started at www.semayoungguns.com on Sept. 14.
Previous Battle of the Builders competitors served as judges, choosing builders age 27 or younger at certain auto events throughout the USA. One winner was selected from each of nine participating events. A 10th winner will be selected from a pool of 21 runner-ups via an online fan vote taking place Sept. 14–Oct. 4, 2019.
The SEMA Young Guns Regional Program supports young, up-and-coming builders who might otherwise have no opportunity to participate in the SEMA Show. It gives young builders a chance to compete beside proven car and truck customizers in the SEMA Battle of the Builders, a prestigious competition for vehicle builders who have cars or trucks on display at the SEMA Show.
“The talent and craftsmanship that we saw during this year’s SEMA Young Guns Regional Program surpassed every one of our expectations,” said Ira Gabriel, SEMA Vice President of Marketing, Communications and PR. “Our industry partners and leaders did an amazing job selecting the winners, and it’s going to be even more challenging to fill the final spot.”
This year’s Regional Program winners are:
- Keenen LaCour, TX2K in Houston, TX
- Steven Nadaskai, Formula Drift in Long Beach, CA
- Thomas Nguyen, Formula Drift in Atlanta, GA
- Austin Haynes, Street Machine Nationals in Du Quoin, IL
- Matteo Medoro, Formula Drift in Seattle, WA
- Shane Durrence, Street Machine Nationals in St. Paul, MN
- Curtis Larsen, Tuner Evolution in Philadelphia, PA
- Zack Zadoo, Goodguys in Pleasanton, CA
- Cody Nebeker, THE SHOW in West Valley City, UT
Voting for the final spot is currently in progress and concludes Oct. 4 at www.semayoungguns.com. All 10 Young Guns Regional Winners will compete in the SEMA Battle of the Builders at the 2019 SEMA Show, the automotive industry’s premier trade event that brings together more than 171,000 professionals from the automotive customization market.