The SEMA Battle of the Builders Young Guns competition returns again this year to the Street Machine Nationals, with qualifying rounds at both the Du Quoin, Ill., (June 21-23) and St. Paul, Minn., (July 19-21) events.
The SEMA Young Guns competition is open to anyone ages 27 or younger (as of November 8, 2019) who builds their vehicle primarily on their own. Participants can submit an application for an opportunity to be chosen by SEMA for one of the qualifying rounds at a Street Machine Nationals event.
A total of 10 vehicles will be selected to compete at each of the two Street Machine Nationals events. Applications can be submitted at semayoungguns.com. SEMA will contact those chosen to compete at a Street Machine Nationals event.
A winner will be named at each of the Street Machine Nationals events, who will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas (November 5-8, 2019), transportation of the winner’s vehicle, a designated feature spot at the SEMA Show and entry into the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition.
This year will mark the third for the SEMA Young Guns, which has been featured at the Street Machine Nationals events in Du Quoin and St. Paul in each of those years.
Last year, Daniel Dent of Bonnie, Ill., won the Young Guns competition at the Du Quoin Street Machine Nationals. The then 20-year-old’s vehicle was a 1972 Chevy C-10 pick-up truck. Among the major aspects of the build that Dent completed were a stunning paint job that took three tries, having to sand the truck all the way back down to its base each time. Dent also installed a new transmission, which he removed from an RV and modified to fit the C-10. He also put a tuned port injection engine in the C-10, which was pulled from another truck.
Dustin Anthony of Richfield, Minn., won the Young Guns competition at the Street Machine Summer Nationals in St. Paul in 2018. Anthony’s build was a Monivetti Era that began its existence as a 2006 Lotus Elise. The then 27-year-old put a total of 4,200 hours into the car over a three-year period, including spending 2,100 hours molding the body by hand. The only items left from the original car were the glass, doors, side mirrors and a few interior pieces.
Professional Street Machine Nationals judges and celebrity judges will choose one Young Guns participant as the winner from the Du Quoin Street Machine Nationals, June 21-23, and one winner at the St. Paul Street Machine Nationals, July 19-21.
For more information on the SEMA Battle of the Builders® Young Guns Competition and to submit an application for an opportunity to be chosen to compete at a Street Machine Nationals event, visit semayoungguns.com.
