MECA Sizzles at The Vinny

Event Coverage Steve Stern

Photos By: Jan Gregory & April Stacy

The James E. Ward Ag Center & Fairgrounds in Lebanon, TN was shakin鈥� as MECAheads from 10 states gathered for SQL, SPL, and Show & Shine contests at 鈥淭he Vinny鈥�. It鈥檚 an annual event hosted by MECA Charter Member, Vinny Taylor, who is also one of MECA鈥檚 top SQL Judges. He shells out the dough to make this happen, with big trophies, and $1000 in prize money for the Top 3 scores in Sound Quality and Sound Pressure contests.

Steve Cook (Team Audio X/Zapco) from Florence, AL, earned $250 for the highest SQ score of the day, in the Modex class, with an outstanding 84.9 points out of a possible 100. That鈥檚 the average of 3 Judges who each listen to the system, and that鈥檚 a high score! Matt Roberts (Team Elite/Zapco) from Fountain Inn, SC won the Install Best of Show with 94.5 points out of 100. Harlan Owens (Team-Loco/XS Power/Zapco) from Frankfort, KY won the RTA Freq Out with 34 out of a possible 40 points, using the AudioControl SA-3055 meter.

Beau Boren (Team Incriminator/OH Generator) from Macon, GA won $250 top prize for the highest dB score in competition with a ground-pounding score of 164.9 dB in Radical X2 on the TermLab meter. Gary Fletcher (Team dB Revolution/Sundown/XS Power) from Hermitage, TN had the highest combined SPL scores for Sound Pressure League Best of Show with 158.6 dB in X1 and 125.5 dB in Drive-by SPL Parade 5. Chris Neely, driving his tricked out hearse, was the Drive-by SPL Parade Best of Show with 125.8 dB, measured 6鈥� from the passenger side outside the vehicle.

Robert Hilton from Canton, GA won the 5鈥� Best of Best of Show trophy for the highest points total in all audio contests. He also earned the most points in the Sound Quality League contest for the 鈥淶apco SQL Best of Show鈥� trophy.

Project Mayhem Car Club won the Show & Shine Club Participation Award. Club co-founders Brian and Selena Rozzo's 2007 Hyundai Tiburon GT won Best Customization. Joseph Harris (Team MadVette) won the Best of Show with his 1995 Dodge Ram 1500. Show & Shine was sponsored by MadVette Motorsports. Wall Street鈥檚 Finest represented with 8 vehicles entered in the sound-off and lots of high SPL scores. D R Kirkland (WSF/Memphis) was a stand-out with 120+ dB in Drive-by SPL Parade, 150+ in Sound Pressure, SPL Phat Truck, Phat I.C.E., and 71 points in Street Install.

Check out the results on the Event Schedule at and follow the club as Competitors get ready for the MECA Finals in October at the Fairgrounds in Lebanon.

Thanks to Vinny and all the Judges:
Cory Bradley, Stephen Butterfield, Chris Gregory, Dave Hale, David Hogan, Kirk Proffitt

Prize $$$ Pay-outs:

Top 3 Sound Quality Scores
Steve Cook (Audio X/Zapco)    $250
Eric Parker (Team Elite)            $150
Steve McIntyre (Team Zapco)    $100

Top 3 Sound Pressure Scores
Beau Boren (Team Incriminator/OH Generator)      $250
Jason Cantrell (Team Elite/Memphis)                     $150
Gary Fletcher (dB Revolution/Sundown/XS Power) $100

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