The show floor at a typical dB Drag Racing event.

Q: Walk me through a typical competition day.

A: The first thing that happens is people come and sign up, then every contestant has the opportunity to go through the judging lanes at least once to establish a score. This is essentially the first round of competition. Their score is the sound pressure level they manage to reach during the 30 second judging period. After everybody is qualified, we take the eight loudest cars for the the first elimination round, and all of those rounds are done head to head, with the highest score moving on to the next round and the loser being dropped from the competition. It's a very competitive atmosphere and it's very exciting.

Q: What do the competitors get out of this?

A: For most it's a hobby, just a way to have some fun and do something they enjoy. That's the great thing about car stereo, it brings together a lot of different interests: cars, music, technology, girls; so you get a really diverse and interesting crowd. The competitions are a good way to meet people, make friends, and there's a real strong sense of camaraderie between the competitors. They also learn a lot about engineering, acoustics, and electronics; skills that they can take out into the job market later on.

At the end of the day, success on the dB Drag Racing circuit takes teamwork.

Q: What are the classes of competition and what sort of guidelines do the competitors have to follow?

A: There are three divisions: street, which is essentially unmodified; super street, which is for cars with larger systems; and extreme, which is more or less anything goes. It still has to resemble a car, though, at least to some degree. We want to encourage people to be creative, but to work within certain guidelines to make it fair and fun for everyone. The regulations also help us with our relationships with sponsors by requiring competitors to use off-the-shelf components and making sure they don't divert too far from what car stereo is really about.