FAST AND FURIOUS STREET RACERS BRING LOVE OF SPEED AND SOUND TO PALMDALE.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The award-winning movie ``The Fast and the Furious'' came to life at the Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale on Saturday morning as top street racers from across the country gathered to participate in the third of an eight-part national drag race competition.

The competition, which will continue at 10 a.m. today, includes exhibitions by the country's top street racers but also allows local youths to participate in races and competitions, including best of show, burnout contests, neon light competitions, horsepower contests, loudest vehicle competitions and best stereo contests. Live entertainment, a bikini contest and a foam party are also part of the event.

``We do this to promote the sport and to promote the lifestyle,'' said Michael Meyers, president of Number One Parts Inc., who organized and sponsored the event. ``We also want to give kids a safe alternative to illegal street racing.''

Within about 30 minutes of the gates opening at the racetrack, the lots were already filled with racers, spectators and representatives of nearly 300 businesses.

Dozens of custom cars ranging from compact imports like Honda Civics and the Ford Focus to high end cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini were out for display. Each of the cars had been customized with thousands of dollars of improvements from custom paint jobs to high output engines.

``This looks just like that scene from `The Fast and the Furious' where they were racing in the desert,'' said Evelyn Crisstan who drove up from San Diego with her brother to watch the races. ``It's just awesome. You feel like you're in the movie.''

The competitions are put on by NOPI; Universal Studios, which produced ``The Fast and the Furious''; and Xbox, Microsoft's video game system, and they are held around the country until the World Finals on Oct. 19 and 20 at River City Raceway in San Antonio, Texas.

The partnership of the companies allows a more organized event with more features, officials said.

``This unique partnership lets spectators and competitors know that Universal supports NOPI's efforts in providing a safe, competitive environment for drag racing,'' said senior vice president in charge of marketing and merchandising for Universal Studios Consumer Products Group.

Each part in the series features events for local street racers and spectators including ``Night Drags - Run What Ya Brung,'' which pits amateur street racers against other amateurs; ``Best of Show'' judged from all the cars and trucks brought to the show; a bikini contest, which pits women from around the country against each other for a $1,000 prize; a burnout contest in which racers are given 60 seconds to smoke their tires as much as possible; a neon contest for participants to show off the creative neon lights on their vehicle; a ``Dyno'' contest that tests the horsepower of participants' vehicles; A Sound Pressure Level competition for the loudest cars at the event; and the United States Autosound Competition to pit contestants' stereos and their installation against one another.

Winners in each competition typically earn trophies.

Tickets to the event are $25 and can be purchased at the gate. The event will last until about 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.nopi.com.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Fancy paint detailing is on display Saturday at the drag racing contest at the Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale.

(2 -- color) Racers push for the advantage in an open class drag racing contest. The competition, which continues at 10 a.m. today, includes exhibitions by the country's top street racers.

(3) Three racing enthusiasts look at a modified pickup during Saturday's raceway event. Racers, spectators and representatives of nearly 300 businesses packed the event.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News