SEMA News—January 2020
EVENTS
“SEMA: Battle Of The Builders” to Recap 2019 Competition
A+E’s FYI and HISTORY’s Drive Block to Air in 2020
 The finalists for the 2019 Battle of the Builders were announced prior to SEMA Ignited, the SEMA Show’s annual after-hours party. The competition will be aired on A+E Network’s FYI and History Channel’s Drive block in January 2020. |
Mike and Jim Ring of Ringbrothers of Spring Green, Wisconsin, captured the top prize at the sixth annual SEMA Battle of the Builders competition at the 2019 SEMA Show, held November 5–8 in Las Vegas. The announcement was made at SEMA Ignited, the official SEMA Show after-party designed to celebrate the builders and showcase products from the trade-only Show.
For the second year in a row, a ’69 Chevrolet Camaro beat more than 300 entrants in the internationally recognized competition. The top four finalists for 2019 were Jim and Mike Ring, with their ’69 Chevrolet Camaro in the Hot Rods category; Randy Borcherding with a ’55 Chevrolet Truck (Truck/Off-Road); Louie Shefchik and his ’68 Iso Rivolta (Sport Compact); and Young Guns winner Brad Swaney with his ’71 Chevrolet C-10. Each builder was recognized with a trophy in his respective class.
 BOTB finalists’ vehicles were on display throughout SEMA Show week outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. |
The four finalists of this years’ competition will be highlighted along with other featured builders in a new TV special, “SEMA: Battle of the Builders,” scheduled to debut on A+E Networks’ FYI and History’s Drive Block. Visit www.SEMAShow.com/botb for information about show dates and times.
The 2019 SEMA Battle of the Builders competition included submissions from seasoned builders as well as new customizers representing an elite group of individuals who demonstrate extreme talent, creativity and craftsmanship in modifying cars, trucks and SUVs. The Young Guns category (builders age 27 years and younger) continues to evolve and expand, providing the next generation of builders with an opportunity to get their vehicles into the Battle of the Builders competition.
 The 12 finalist vehicles were judged one at a time, with every build detail scrutinized and reviewed by an expert panel. |
 After the top four vehicle class finalists were announced, they led a SEMA Cruise motorcade to the site of SEMA Ignited. |
 Mike and Jim Ring of Spring Green, Wisconsin, celebrated their win at Battle of the Builders 2019 alongside their ’69 Chevy Camaro. |
Industry experts R.J. DeVera of Meguiar’s, Cam Miller of HS Customs, and Jeremiah Proffitt of Proffitt’s Resurrection Land Cruisers were the competition’s judges and narrowed down the field of nearly 300 entries to the top 10 in each category before selecting the top 12 builds overall. The top 12 finalists were:
Hot Rod
- Eric Peratt—’36 Ford Roadster
- Gary Corkell—’32 Ford Phantom
- Jim and Mike Ring—’69 Chevrolet Camaro
Sport Compact
- Edison Sarkisyan—’55 Porsche 550 Spyder
- Louie Shefchik—’68 Iso Rivolta
- TJ Russell—’91 Porsche 911
Truck/Off-Road
- Darin Smith—’72 Chevrolet
- C-10 Shortbed
- Erik Barnlund—’72 Ford Bronco
- Randy Borcherding—’55 Chevrolet Truck
Young Guns
- Brad Swaney—’71 Chevrolet C-10
- Kyle Ray—’88 BMW E30
- Luke Merrill—’40 Chevrolet Two-Door Sedan
The 12 finalists themselves then took over judging duties for the competition and named Ringbrothers the overall winner.
For more information about the 2019 Battle of the Builders competition or the SEMA Young Guns program, visit www.sema.org/botb, www.semayoungguns.com or SEMA’s YouTube channel.
