Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour in Du Quoin Monday
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The third top of the 16th annual Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour presented by GM Performance Division will be at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds on Monday, June 7. The Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour features thousands of the finest high-end vehicles in the world touring seven cities in seven days. Each year a different set of tour stops and host cities mark this signature event of Hot Rod Magazine. over 4,500 hot rods and performance vehicles are expected by tour officials on this year's 1,370 mile journey.
From the launch in Newton, Iowa, the 2010 16 annual event will roll through the Midwest and head south, making one-day visits in Springfield, Du Quoin., Bowling Green, Ky., Chattanooga, Teen. and Birmingham, Ala. before the final tour stop in Mobile, Ala on Friday, June 11.
The purpose of the tour is simple: bring together automotive enthusiasts and their lovingly-prepared vehicle,s top automotive aftermarket suppliers and spectators for a traveling celebration of power, performance, styling and all things automotive. In addition to the 4,500 participant vehicles expected; tour organizers are preparing for 65,000 spectators to visit the stops and take in the sights, sounds and experiences.
When these high-end performance vehicles roll into the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, they will focus a nationwide buzz in the automotive aftermarket world on the Southern Illinois area. The enthusiastic drivers and travel companions making the tour will make a significant impact on the local economies when they roll into each city along the way. Local tourism and convention and visitors bureaus are active in supporting the tour. It is considered a major tourism achievement for a community become a Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour stop. Typically, upwards of $1.5 million of economic impact flows into the local economies through hotel, restaurant and retail expenditures.
Countless performance car lovers have enjoyed reading Hot Rod Magazine for over 60 years. The tour embodies a dream for avid readers. Hot Rod fans from around the world plan their vacations, calculate the time needed to finish building their cars and live for the rush of emotion that comes along with cruising down the highway with hundreds of kindred spirits. All along the route, admirers plant themselves in lawn chairs to wave and cheer for the once-in-a-lifetime parade. Attending any of the tour stops is free to spectators,although many who attend undoubtedly head home and start tinkering with their own dream project vehicles.
For both participants and spectators the tour offers the opportunity to get up close to exciting project vehicles from GM Performance Division, the cover cars of Hot Rod Magazine. Beyond the cars, attendees ca visit manufacturer displays, get autographs and meet industry legends like Vic Edelbrock of Edelbrock Performance Products. And, being Hot Rod's signature even, Hot Rod editorial staffs will take thousands of photos and collect the stories of the road for their extensive post-tour coverage in the magazine and on the daily-updated www.hotrod. com.
While a large number of participants in the tour make the "long haul" and complete all the stops, others rendezvous with the tour and come along for shorter legs of the journey. At each stopover, local enthusiasts by the thousands come to display their vehicles for the day and take in the experience.
This year, registered participants can compete for daily plaques and a chance at national recognition in the Lucas Oil Dyno Challenge presented by E3 sparkplugs. New this year is the Austin Hatcher Foundation's daily Pinewood "Muscle Car" Derby. The participants are invited to buy a derby car on-site and compete for cash and awards. The foundation raises money and awareness for pediatric cancer.
Registration is open to any make and model. You can register onsite for $80. The how is expected to roll into Du Quoin by mid-morning.