Thursday is where several of SEMA’s week-long storylines start turning into results. Today, Thursday, November 5, there is still far more on the Las Vegas Convention Center floor than any one person can cover, but a few stops have a clock attached.
After walking the halls with a camera yesterday, I would leave room for these today. This is a selective Best Vegas Events guide, rather than the whole programme; the official SEMA schedule has the complete listing.
Schedule checked Thursday, November 5, 2026, at 1:05 p.m. Pacific. All times below are Las Vegas time. SEMA’s current schedule is dated November 4 and remains subject to change.
Battle of the Builders Reaches the Top 4
The Top 12 competition is underway at the Battle of the Builders Stage, Central Hall, booth #24743, running from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today. At 3:30 p.m., SEMA is scheduled to announce the four class champions—the Top 4 category winners.
That is an important distinction: today’s announcement is not the overall 2026 winner. The official Battle of the Builders programme schedules that decision for Friday, November 6, at noon.
SEMA’s current Top 12 field spans four categories:
Hot Rod / Hot Rod Truck: Charles Crews — 1970 Plymouth ’Cuda; Andy Leach — 1933 Pontiac Vicky; Eddie Pettus — 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle.
Sport Compact / Import Performance: Buddy Hale — 1955 Volkswagen Ghia; Jordan Henke — 1974 Ford Capri MK1; Kamaka Pocock — 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I.
Off-Road: Mark Giambalvo — 1974 Chevrolet K10; Scott Luscombe — 1985 Chevrolet K10; Jeremy Wessels — 1969 Ford Bronco.
Young Guns: Bryce Adams — 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer; Jesse Rieger — 1969 Ford Mustang; Dylan Russell — 1999 BMW E36.
If you want to make time for one scheduled announcement today, 3:30 p.m. at that stage is a strong choice. The range of cars alone makes this more interesting than a contest between similar builds.
FutureTech Looks Beyond the Traditional Aftermarket
At 4:00–4:30 p.m. today, the FutureTech Studio LIVE Stage, booth #24401, hosts “We Can Do Hard Things: Building an Electric Porsche 914 as My First Car.”
Speaker Frances Farnam, founder of Tinkergineering, will discuss restoring and electrifying her first car, a 1976 Porsche 914. The official session description focuses on learning, mentors and the challenges of building something unfamiliar—an appealing angle at a show where finished vehicles can make the work behind them easy to overlook.
It is one example of FutureTech’s wider interest in future propulsion, emerging technology and new engineering ideas. The area is worth treating as more than an EV display. Check the official schedule for the rest of its programme.
The New Content Creator Corral
For a stop without a single announcement time, the inaugural Content Creator Corral in the Main Hall Annex is underway and runs through Friday, November 6.
SEMA’s official introduction brings creators together with their project vehicles. Examples include a BMW Z3 M Coupé, a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, a Porsche Boxster transformed into the Vale Automotive GT1, and the genuine “2 Fast 2 Furious” Yenko Camaro restored by Hard Up Garage.
The cars are the immediate attraction, but the format matters too. Creators have become part of how people discover builds, follow a project’s progress and encounter new products. Seeing the vehicles behind those stories gives this area a different purpose from a conventional product booth.
SEMA Continues After the Show Floor
Tonight’s SEMA Industry Honors takes place at BleauLive Theater, Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The cocktail-hour reception begins at 6:00 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m.
The programme includes Content Creator of the Year and Person of the Year. This is a separately ticketed evening event, not something automatically included with every show badge. SEMA lists attendee tickets at $50; check ticket options and current availability through SEMA registration or the Registration Resource Center.
And There Is Still the Show Floor
The timed stops are useful anchors, but I would still leave space between them. Much of what has caught my attention at SEMA has been something I had not planned to find.
Our SEMA 2026 coverage hub brings together those show-floor stories, from Toyota’s adventure builds to the detailing displays and vehicle technology across the halls. Today’s announcements add another layer to a show that is still very much underway.