The SEMA Show in Las Vegas seems to get bigger every year; and whether it’s your first visit or you’ve been attending for decades, there are always new sights and sounds to explore.  Several us from the Brenton Productions team were there — and whether we were busy shooting MotorTrend’s one-hour special, recording for the Two Guys Garage Podcast, meeting with colleagues, or just taking it all in for the first time; we all returned with stories to share.

Monday

Brenton Productions dove into SEMA week with poolside cocktails at the Westgate Resort Monday night.  (We were pretty excited!)

“The weather was perfect and provided us with the opportunity to thank our loyal clients for their support and to relax before the craziness of SEMA kicked into full swing,” said SVP of Sales and Marketing Chris Crean.  “Our clients mingled with the Brenton sales group, our excellent production team, Brenton ownership, and a wide array of our awesome on-air talent. Suffice to say, we started off the week with a bang!”

Tuesday

The hosts of MotorTrend’s one-hour SEMA special kicked off a busy week of shooting with the Brenton Productions crew.  Jared Zimmerman, Emily Reeves, and Bruno Massel had a mission to divide and conquer as much of the Las Vegas Convention Center as possible!

Meanwhile, a fuzzy friend got to walk the floor with director Matt Allegretti.  Years ago, Matt’s son snuck “Travel Turtle” into Matt’s suitcase.

“He said it was his way of being with me on the trips I have to take for work. So anytime I go somewhere cool, I make sure Travel Turtle gets to experience it with me.  This is Travel Turtle’s third trip to SEMA, and I always take pictures with him in front of cool cars during the day and text them home to my son.”

Wednesday

When your wedding anniversary coincides with SEMA Week, you make the most of it!  Mike and Katie Alexander, both on the production crew at Brenton, celebrated their third wedding anniversary on Wednesday.  What better way to mark the occasion than by getting dressed up and hitting a few SEMA cocktail parties?  Emily Reeves even staged an impromptu anniversary photo shoot for the couple at the beautiful Las Vegas Country Club!

While Brenton’s TV crew was covering the SEMA Show for MotorTrend, Two Guys Garage hosts Kevin Byrd and Willie B interviewed industry professionals and vehicle builders for iHeartRadio’s new Two Guys Garage Podcast. 

Richard Waitis, Magnaflow, sits down with the hosts of the Two Guys Garage Podcast.

Kevin Byrd and Willie B interview Mike Ruth, Heidts Hot Rod & Muscle Car Parts.

The Two Guys Garage Podcast visits the Factory Five Racing booth to chat with NASCAR Champion Joey Logano and David Smith, Factory Five Racing.

Thursday

Our account managers couldn’t help capturing a few cool vehicles while running between meetings. Martha Doyle has a soft spot for pickup trucks, and this Monster Jam truck parked outside caught her eye.

Both movie stars and movie cars have been known to appear at SEMA.  Arthur Irwin spotted Dom’s Charger from Fast & Furious. 

No one forgets their first trip to the SEMA Show!  SEMA first-timer Jonathan Sandak caught some of the action at Ford Out Front: 

“There is just a small concrete barrier separating spectators from these two Mustangs’ spectacular synchronization,” said Jonathan.  “You can feel the power, the thunder of their screaming engines as they slide by, spewing their thrust and grit. The noise only slows when the cars pull back into the pits to take another SEMA participant on what must be the ride of their lives. If only I didn’t have work to do, I would have been on line for my first drifting experience!  I will be back, and I hope the Mustangs will be there as well.”

If you were at SEMA this year, share your favorite highlights in the comments!

If you didn’t get to be part of this year’s event, don’t worry – you can catch our one-hour special on MotorTrend in December!