By BRANDON WORF

bworf@dailynews.net

Car shows are a summer pastime, and the Hays City Auto Outlaws are aiming to get their next installment of their summer series rolling.

Slated for July 25, the Outlaws car show will be from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Advance Auto Parts parking lot, 2800 Vine.

"Basically, if you got a car and you've done something to it, you can come show it," said Greg Augustine, one of the event organizers. "If you're working on it inside, changing the wheels or doing some striping to it, bring it on down."

While many car shows feature big prizes for things such as best in show, the Auto Outlaws tend to keep things a little simpler.

"This isn't one of the events where you see a lot of high-dollar show cars," Augustine said. "You see more cars out here where people just take pride in their ride and just want to show their stuff. That's it."

A few small prizes are being offered, and a small poker run is planned, but a few other amenities hopefully will draw some of those on the fringes of decision.

"The entry fee is only $5, and you get a free buffet of KFC during the cruise," Augustine said. "KFC provided us with a place and food, and after that, we'll do the little poker-run type of deal around town. We've got about four or five stops, and we'll tally things at the end to see who has the winning hand. We'll give them the prizes at the end."

Augustine receives help in organizing the events from his wife, Donna, and a few friends. It's challenging at times, considering the shows they put on aren't part of a group.

"We used to be part of a local car club, and we're just trying to get regrouped," Augustine said. "Darrell Unrein helps me out a lot, and so does his wife, Noreen."

The foursome has a nickname even, Augustine said.

"We call ourselves the Four Musketeers," he laughed. "We're always looking for help."

The ultimate purpose of the shows is to display one's vehicular interests, but Augustine says the shows themselves have another purpose.

"We donate all the money that we don't give away in prizes to the Ellis County Cancer Society," he said. "So a lot of it goes to the Relay For Life, things like that."

The smaller shows, such as this one, aren't the big generators of donations like the larger one they typically put on at the end of summer.

"Our big show is coming up at Lewis Ford in August," Augustine said. "They're letting us use their facilities and run the whole thing basically."

And that's the big time show of the year for the four freelance organizers.

"We'll probably have around 110 or 120 cars at that one, and some pretty expensive ones, too," Augustine said. "Last year, we had cars from all over Kansas, and as far away as Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, even Oklahoma and Texas. It's a pretty big deal, and as usual, the money always goes to charity."