Kelle and Kevin Oeste are often asked how the V8 Speed and Resto Shop came to be, and on this special episode of the V8 Radio Podcast, they recall some of the many twists, turns, risks, cars, media, people, and more that evolved into where they are today, 20 years later! Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke goes along for the ride, from the initial idea to present day, assembling a world-class team that builds awesome cars for great customers all over the globe. The mission is to connect people with the best time of their lives through things with wheels, and the V8 Team is hard at it every day. And Kelle dealt out a heck of an automotive trivia question, and much more on this V8 Radio Podcast!
SEMA CEO Mike Spagnola joins Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke and Kevin Oeste on this episode of the V8 Radio Podcast, recorded in the ARP display at the 2022 Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis! Topics include the SEMA Show news, the SEMA Garage, and cool projects of his own like his new Nissan Z. Spagnola breaks down the SEMA Individual Membership and how joining helps protect the interests of all automotive enthusiasts and professionals. And he did pretty well on the Automotive Trivia contest! Click to listen and be sure to subscribe!
Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke and Kevin Oeste recap the 2022 SEMA Show and look forward to the new developments to come next year. A highlight for Kevin was hosting the SEMA Central Stage and interviewing people from all aspects of the automotive world, but perhaps the most memorable was surprising SEMA CEO Mike Spagnola with a Mikey Thompson streamliner model kit… just like the one Mike built as a kid that got him enthused about cars! Tears were shed, for sure. Other notables included Top Fuel racer Antron Brown, Hoonigan rally driver Ken Block, and more. Of course, you’ll find Automotive Trivia and much more on the latest V8 Radio Podcast!
Kevin Oeste and Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke chat discuss vanity license plates and other updates on Kevin’s Dodge Maxivan. Later, it’s a 2022 SEMA show preview, which leads to a discussion about automotive events from a car builder standpoint. Sprinkle in some great automotive trivia and few laughs, and you’ve got another action-packed episode of your favorite automotive podcast, V8 Radio!
V8 Radio Podcast
2022 SEMA Preview, Van Update, Car Shows, Automotive Trivia, and More on the V8 Radio Podcast!
SEMA 2022 is upon us and once again we are making the pilgrimage to the Las Vegas Convention Center to walk amongst all the innovative companies that make the automotive industry the juggernaut that it is. TMI Products will be among the many booths showing off the interior products that make them a leader in the industry but want to take it one step further and recognize the builders that have created one-of-a-kind vehicles with the TRIM Awards.
2022 SEMA TMI TRIM Awards
The TRIM Awards is a highlight of all the incredible vehicle builds that will be at SEMA 2022 and will be focusing on the interiors. The cars, trucks, SUVs, and wagons that grace the floors and booths of that cavern of steel and concrete are built to the utmost precision and feature the best that the aftermarket manufacturers have to offer. These vehicles are equipped with the latest parts to make their engines go faster, suspensions perform better, body panels appear straighter, and interiors shine brighter.
TMI is the leader in creating complete interior components that are ready to install and wants to recognize all the hard work that these builders have put forth in building these visual masterpieces. The SEMA show is known for having the best of the best vehicles on display, and their choices for interiors are something to behold. A finely appointed vehicle can truly be elevated if the interior is on par with the rest of the vehicle.
Since SEMA is a collection of the best vehicles that the automotive community can offer, TMI wanted to recognize the best of those vehicles and what the owners chose for their interior. The TRIM Awards were created to recognize the forethought that it took to not only create a finely crafted custom vehicle but to incorporate the interior into that design. Since the TRIM Awards will be given outlive at SEMA 2022, only the most detailed and creative interior installs will be considered.
The awards themselves are designed to not only honor the achievement of the winner but to do so in a very public way. Too often, awards are crafted in an unrecognizable shape from a material that is hard to decipher from far away. TMI wanted the TRIM Awards to be clearly visible when the winners display it at their house or garage and be able to easily hoist it up in the air to show how excited the winner is. The awards were also a way to get a group of like-minded vehicle builders into the same area and let them share in their achievements both out on floor of the convention center and up on stage. But it’s not just an award that our winners will be getting, each individual category winner will receive $500 voucher, and our Best of Show Champion will receive a certificate for a complete interior for their next build (value of $8,000) that can be used to purchase TMI interior products for a future build.
Giving out the awards will be a panel of insiders from the aftermarket industry including the TRIM Awards Host Kevin Oeste of V8 Speed & Resto Shop as well as being the voice of SEMA 2022. Veteran from the publishing industry with Sean Holman who is the Content Director of the Truck and Off-Road Group at Motor Trend and the co-host of The Truck Show Podcast. Sara Morosan, the 2021 SEMA Person of the year, multi-Ford Design award winner and co-owner of LGE/CTS Motorsports. Theresa Contreras, PPG Brand ambassador, Multi Ford Design award winner and co-owner of LGE/CTS Motorsports. Last but not least, we have the custom automotive video team of Marcel Venable and Jason Mulligan who are the co-owners of Auto Revolution on Amazon Prime.
To enter your vehicle, you first need to have a vehicle on display at SEMA 2022. The awards will be given away on stage in the TMI Booth during the week of SEMA at the TMI booth, located in the Central Hall, booth #24477, at 12:00PM on Wednesday. In order to accept your trophy, you need to be present during the awards ceremony. That way you can get up on stage and proudly hold up your award proving you beat out literally everyone else displaying a vehicle.
TRIM Awards Categories include:
Best Car–Open to any car that features TMI seats
Best Truck–Open to any truck that features TMI seats
Best SUV or Wagon–Open to any SUV or wagon, either two-door or four-door that features TMI seats
Best Full Interior–Open to any vehicle of any type that is running a full interior. A full interior includes all the available components from that model line
Most Creative–Best usage of patterns, colors, and overall execution
Best Color-Matching–Best usage of patterns, colors, and stitching that matches vehicle exterior
Best Custom Car Interior (open to all Cars at the show)–Can be any vehicle with any type of custom interior
Best Custom Truck Interior (open to all Trucks at the show)–Can be any vehicle with any type of custom interior
Fan Favorite (Chosen on Social Media)–Finalists that the TRIM Award Judges have chosen will be displayed on the TMI Social Media channels (Facebook and Instagram), voted in by audience
Best of Show Champion–Judges will vote on their favorite TMI-equipped vehicle of SEMA 2022 and crown it with the TRIM Award’s highest honor
SEMA 2022 TRIM AWARDS RULES
All vehicles must be registered and at the 2022 SEMA Show and registered with TMI so that the TRIM panel of judges can find your vehicle for the competition.
Judging for the TRIM(SEMA) Awards will begin Tuesday afternoon November 1st with the announcement from TMI’s SEMA booth of the top 16 vehicles
Competitors are encouraged to register online to let judges know where to find their vehicles.
The crowning of the inaugural TRIM Champion will take place on November 2nd at TMI Products SEMA booth #24477, 12:00 noon PST.
Nostalgia gets the best of our host Kevin Oeste as he stumbles across a car he’s been seeking for 32 years… and it’s a van! A custom 1979 Dodge Maxivan, to be specific, very similar to the one his family bought back in 1984. On this episode of the V8 Radio Podcast, Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke is super excited to hear the whole story on this magic bus, and hopefully you’ll dig it, too. What’s Kevin going to do with it? We’ll find out! There’s always some laughs and a couple good Automotive Trivia questions on the V8 Radio Podcast!
Many cool cars, one awesome event. MotorTrend’s Amanda Busick interviews “The voice of SEMA” Kevin Oeste, who shares some of his favorites from Monday night’s reveal.
From the Cars, Stars, and Roll Bars site: “Kevin Oeste, Owner of V8 Speed and Resto Shop, has been a friend for many years and it was great to have him set aside time to be my featured guest. He is a lifelong automotive and motorsports enthusiast who’s passion was sparked at an early age. After receiving a degree in Broadcast Communication from Illinois State University, Kevin was able to merge his two passions by getting hired at Hot Rod Magazine in Los Angeles, eventually producing Hot Rod TV on Speedchannel. Shooting NCMA races and events like the Hot Rod Power Tour led him all over the country, eventually meeting his wife Kelle 6 states from home after his 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible broke down on the Power Tour.
In 2005, Oeste and Kelle launched the V8 Speed and Resto Shop in Red Bud, IL, a world-class restoration, custom, and performance center currently employing 25 dedicated professionals building award-winning cars for discerning customers all over the world. Kevin handles the media and helps customers visualize their dream cars, and Kelle is the operational force that runs the business. Their first car was a 1969 Camaro SEMA show car, and it’s been full throttle ever since.
The mission statement of the V8 Speed and Resto Shop is “To connect people with the best times of their lives through things with wheels.” Kevin and Kelle Oeste remain immersed in automotive business, media, events, and culture, noting that it’s not about the cars… it’s all about the people and their stories. It seems they’ve written quite a story for themselves along the way.”
The 2022 V8TV Drive In Cruise was a success, although a bit wet at times. We were happy to finally fulfill the destiny of having Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke’s 1967 Pontiac GTO, Pauls Wieshuber’s 1962 Buick Electra, and Kevin Oeste’s 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 XL all at the Drive In event! There were hundreds of cool cars at the show, and it turned out to be a great night. (The ride home was a bit wet!) Paul and Mike had a few minor fixes, but overall the trip went smoothly. Hear all about it, plus some riveting Automotive Trivia questions and much more on the V8 Radio Podcast!
Kevin Oeste and Mike “Q-Ball” Clarke chat about the SEMA Awards Gala and the 2022 SEMA Hall Of Fame as Kevin and Kelle recently returned from their trip hosting the induction ceremony in Anaheim, CA featuring Gene Winfield, Walker Evans, and Jack Roush. Kevin and Kelle also enjoyed spending some time visiting Pete Santini, Chip Foose, Mick’s Paint and Tony Thacker, and some other great Hot Rod Industry friends on the trip. We also get a quick recap of the rained-out 2022 Bonneville Speed Week, and Mike shares the latest “chilling” updates on the GTO! And there’s much more, including Automotive Trivia, on this episode of the V8 Radio Podcast!
