SEMA Comes to a Close
Drag Racing Action Online
The 2022 SEMA show is completed, and the cars have left, and booths have been packed up at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year’s edition was well attended by vendors, buyers, and fans.
The SEMA Show is a trade show produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA); a nonprofit trade association founded in 1963. Since the first SEMA Show debuted in 1967, the annual event has served as the leading venue bringing together manufacturers and buyers within the automotive specialty equipment industry. Products featured at the SEMA Show include those that enhance the styling, functionality, comfort, convenience, and safety of cars and trucks.
As usual, the NHRA had a large presence with all the “Big Guns” such as Camping World 2022 Pro Stock World Champ Erica Enders joined on the NHRA Camping World stage with fellow racer Bo Butner, team owner Richard Freeman and Jason Johnson Owner and President of Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage.
In addition to the Pro Stock heavyweights, the John Force Racing Team along with Team Kalitta were also on stage with Tony Pedregon and Brian Lohnes throughout the show.
Content creator Larry Chen was named winner of the first annual SEMA Automotive Influencer of the Year award for his positive impact on the automotive industry.
The award is a result of the rise of content creators’ and social media influencers’ impact on the industry. Finalists for the award were selected based on their presence and influence across social media channels, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more.
Automotion Customs won this year’s SEMA PRO Cup Challenge for with its 2022 Toyota Rav4 XLE. The company’s accessory package is easy to replicate and ideal for new-car dealers to add mass consumer appeal to their inventory.
One of the more popular portions of the show was the annual Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. The competition, featuring the best young mechanics in the USA is a Nationwide High School Engine Building Competition.
The top teams from SEMA move on to the Elite Eight round at the PRI show in Indianapolis in December. Winning teams receive scholarships to Ohio Technical College, The School of Automotive Machinists and Technology and Universal Technical Institute.
Moving on to Indy are the teams from Parts Pro Performance Centers, Fragola Performance Systems, Meziere Enterprises, Edelbrock Performance, and NASCAR Technical Institute.