The third stop of the Autofest 2010 Points Series was June 12, 2010 at the Choctaw Casino in McAlester, OK. It was a beautiful day with sunshine, blue skies, and an almost constant breeze. There were over 85 vehicles on hand to compete in Show & Shine, Sound Quality, and Sound Pressure Level. There were also plenty of vendors, a burnout competition, the kid's zone and a live concert. All in all it was a great show that saw a huge turnout and had activities for everyone who attended.

Weather is always a concern when having outdoor events, especially when the attendance of the Broken Bow show took such a hard hit due to all of the bad weather in the surrounding areas before and during the show. However, McAlester was blessed with lots of great weather that helped make this a successful car show. It was definitely a day that sunscreen replaced umbrellas and everyone was thankful for this good weather. This was evident by the number of people that showed up both to compete and spectate.

Registration started at 8 a.m. and the competitors in the know showed up early to ensure they had plenty of time to get their car prep done before the sun took control of the sky. Before 7:45 a.m. rims were being polished, cars wiped down and tents were going up. The parking lot was getting fuller with each passing moment and each moment also brought a new sight, sound, or smell. Be it freshly polished chrome sparkling in the morning sun, hot dogs & hamburgers cooking on the grill, the rumble of a '57 Chevy, or tuning of guitars and sound checks, these were all positive signs that it was going to be a good day.

A good day it was, filled with competition and great family fun. For some of those who may not be familiar with all of the competitions, here is a rundown on what can be expected from each one. There are three divisions including Show & Shine, SQ, and SPL.

The Show & Shine competition is for competitors who want their car judged on presentation and condition. Judges look at things such as the exterior, interior, and the engine. They then give scores based on what kind of condition these areas are in. While at a car show you will see competitors put a lot of effort into making sure that every square inch of their vehicle is clean and ready for presentation.

The SQ (Sound Quality) competition is for competitors who want their vehicle to be judged on the quality of the sound its stereo produces. This competition is judged purely on how realistic of a sound the car produces when listening at normal volume. The judge will sit in the car and listen to certain tracks on a CD that are specific to Sound Quality judging. A proper SQ vehicle will make you feel as if you are at a live performance, not because of how loud it can go, but because of the quality of the sound it produces.

The SPL (Sound Pressure Level) competition is for the competitors who want their vehicle to be judged on how LOUD it can get. These are the vehicles that rattle windows, vibrate walls and set off car alarms. The vehicles are judged using a microphone that is mounted on a stand and sits in the front seat of the car.This microphone is connected to a meter that will measure, in decibels, how loud the car is. They are then given 30 seconds to play their stereo in an effort to reach the highest decibel possible. In the end the winners are determined by who has reached the highest decibel on the meter.

Understanding what the different vehicles compete in can make the show more enjoyable for you. It can also get you into a competition you may not have entered otherwise. It is not uncommon for there to be a misconception about the audio competitions. Some people do not realize that there is another class of car audio outside the art of making it the LOUDEST. There is though and it is the art of SQ, (Sound Quality) and this discovery has actually brought some people into audio competition that otherwise might not have joined.

Another competition that captivated the crowd was the burnout competition and the McAlester Fire Department was on hand to assist with it. While everyone waited for the burnout to start the Firemen were happy to answer questions about the fire truck and even gave people tours of it. The kids were really excited to be able to actually climb on a fire truck and sit in it. When the time came for the burnout competition the kids were able to see the firetruck in action as the firemen sprayed down the concrete for the cars getting ready to compete.

The burnout competition is a real crowd pleaser and is even judged by the crowd. The goal for anyone in the burnout competition is to get the biggest reaction possible from the crowd by revving their engine as hard as they can to spin the tires creating as much smoke as possible. The louder and smokier you get, the bigger reaction you get from the crowd. The winner of this competition was presented with a new pair of tires from OK Tire & Auto Service of McAlester. Click here to see video of the burnout.

If you were looking for something to do in between competitions you did not have to go far. The venue also offered lots of shopping options from the many vendors who set up at the show. In addition to this there was also a huge inflatable obstacle course in the Kid's Zone. The Kid's Zone was provided by the National Guard and was a huge hit for all the little fans attending Autofest.

Live entertainment and delicious foods were also available at the McAlester show. Dixie Rain was live and on stage for most of the day providing fans with musical entertainment. The crowd really enjoyed their performance and gave the whole concert a thumbs up. For the people working up an appetite there were grilled sausages, grilled hotdogs, and grilled hamburgers with lots of cold drinks. One could also enjoy the fresh taste of the Indian Tacos that were prepared fresh on site. The community center was open to the public so that they were able to sit in the air conditioning while eating, and cool off.

This has been the biggest show of the series yet and it will only grow stronger. The next stop for the Autofest Points Series will be July 17 at the Choctaw Casino in Stringtown, OK. Stringtown is the final stop before the big finale at the Choctaw Casino Event Center in Durant, OK, August 7 & 8. That will be an indoor and outdoor event spread out over two days. For more information on anything Autofest please contact the event director, Tony Goza, at 580-924-2255.