2024 SEMA Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Newest members are Chris Kersting, Jack Priegel, Les Rudd, and Jon Wyly

DIAMOND BAR, CA – May 2, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has announced the newest members of its prestigious Hall of Fame: Chris Kersting, Jack Priegel, Les Rudd, and Jon Wyly. The industry is invited to join in honoring them as they are welcomed into the Hall of Fame at the­­ SEMA Leaders & Legends Gala on July 19 in Anaheim, Calif.

“The automotive specialty-equipment industry, and SEMA as a whole, owes a lot of its success to the tireless contributions of our newest Hall of Fame members,” said SEMA President and CEO Mike Spagnola. “Whether it was helping to build up companies or providing services that were once a gap in the industry, their legacies have left a mark that will enrich our industry for generations to come.”

Chris Kersting: As SEMA president and CEO from 2002 until his retirement in 2022, Kersting led the organization through two decades of significant growth. During his tenure, he grew the globally recognized SEMA Show and bolstered the success of 6,000-plus SEMA member companies through innovative programs and services, including the SEMA Data Co-op (now SEMA Data), SEMA Garage & Emissions Lab, SEMA Political Action Committee (PAC), SEMA Ignited, SEMA Garage Detroit, and acquisition of the Performance Racing Industry (PRI). He also led the Association through times of difficult challenges, such as the 2008 recession and COVID pandemic.

Prior to his role as president and CEO, Kersting led SEMA’s Washington, D.C., office as vice president of government affairs, where he urged lawmakers to pass bills that protected the interests of SEMA member companies and challenged government regulation to maintain innovation and growth in the aftermarket industry. Association membership, approximately 2,400 when Kersting started, grew steadily during his tenure and topped more than 6,400 member companies at his tenure’s end–a period of rapid growth for both the Association and the industry.

“I feel so fortunate to have had a lifelong career working with smart, interesting, and good people,” said Kersting. “SEMA’s reason for existence was to help the people in this great industry and to give them tools and fuel to blast forward. I feel honored and humbled to have that work recognized.”

Jack Priegel: Priegel was an electrical engineer and worked for Raytheon at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.,…