'History Made': Motorsports Fans Rejoice At LI Drag Racing Events

RIVERHEAD, NY — History was made in Riverhead Saturday as drag racing once again revved up on Long Island —and a crowd of motorsports enthusiasts turned out for an event they said has been years in the making.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar led the opening ceremony for the community drag racing event at Enterprise Park at Calverton. The event included local Riverhead youth singing the National Anthem and a military salute, with elected officials in attendance, she said.

Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting, Aguiar, in a race car, roared through a crepe paper ribbon stretched across the track as the crowd cheered.

In June, the Riverhead Town board voted 4 to 0 to approve the "Race Track, Not Street" series, presented by Peter Scalzo, which takes place on four weekends in August, with both daytime and nighttime races planned; three weekends remain.

Those remaining "Hot Track" dates are Aug. 28 from 4 p.m. to 10:45 p.m., Aug. 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sept. 4 from 4 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.; Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sept. 11 from 4 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. and Sept. 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Next, the Scrambul Runway Challenge Drag Racing Event, presented by Scrambul Inc., takes place on Sept. 25 and Sept. from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the dates were changed from the initially pitched June 19 and June 20 due to concerns over nesting birds at EPCAL. Rain dates for the event are Oct. 2 and 3.

Remembering the sheer joy emanating from the many who attended Saturday night's inaugural event, Aguiar said she got chills. "I have never seen anything like this in my life," she said.

Aguiar kicked off the festivities with Lisa Pickersgill, "the face of downtown Riverhead," in the car beside her; Lisa's father Ray was a strong proponent of events to infuse downtown with new energy and vitality until he died from the coronavirus last year.

Johnny Consoli of L.I. Needs A Dragstrip lauded the supervisor for her efforts to bring a long-held dream to fruition.

"Thank you to Supervisor Yvette Aguiar for everything she has done for the motorsports community and for allowing the 'Race Track, Not Street' events to happen at EPCAL. . . For so many years, people have tried to bring motorsports to EPCAL, and previous administrations have never opened their eyes to the tremendous opportunity," he said. "Supervisor Aguiar said she would get us a dragstrip, and here today on August 21, 2021, she declared it the official 'Drag Racing Day' in the town Of Riverhead. A historic day, and one for the record books!" he wrote on Facebook.

Riverhead Town officials also posted a message on social media: "What an awesome opening day for Riverhead and 'Race Track, Not Street'! Today, Riverhead made history! The entire community is in awe."

Town officials thanked drag racing promotors Pete and Maree Scalzo, L.I. Needs a Drag Strip, "the Riverhead face of drag racing, John Montecalvo, and all those who had a vision. Today, your hard work became reality. The track was filled with people racing their cars, families cheering them on, couples on dates, and children playing with remote-controlled race cars while eating ice cream. These events will bring our entire community together and help our economy. We can’t wait for the next event!"

Aguiar's voice filled with emotion as she described the event. "People cried," she said. Montecalvo, a world-champion racer, "got teary," she said. "Someone wrote 'Thank you, Riverhead,' on their car. Kids were clapping. People were hugging me. We fought so hard for this."

A proclamation from Aguiar described drag racing as a fun, family-friendly sport originating in the 1930s and attracting enthusiasts from all ages and all walks of life.

L.I. Needs A Drag Strip, the proclamation said, was organized in 2016 by John Cozzali, his wife Kathy, and son Consoli. In the years since, the group has fought to bring motorsports back to Long Island and organized events such as "Hot Rods, Not Heroin" to introduce youth to a safe and fun hobby, the proclamation said.

The group joined forces with Scalzo to organize the "Race Track, Not Street" series.

Donna Nicosia of the "Long Island Needs a Drag Strip" group was thrilled to see drag racing brought to Riverhead. "I'm ecstatic," she said. "My son is a race car driver, and so is my husband. To finally be able to race where we live is such a pleasure."

Up until now, Nicosia and her family were spending exorbitant sums on money, gas, tolls, and hotels to travel for hours to events in areas such as upstate New York, Virginia, and Maryland, she said. "To have it back on Long Island is a great thing," she said, lauding Aguiar for her efforts. "She's the one we have to thank," Nicosia said. "This administration is finally listening."

"Drag racing is a fun and exhilarating, family-friendly spectator sport with a huge following by all age groups," Aguiar said in an earlier interview with Patch. "The events planned by Race Track, Not Street and the drag racing series by Scrambul will offer members of our community a safe and legal opportunity to race their vehicles, or spend an exciting day viewing the races from the sidelines with friends and family."

The events have the potential to generate income for Riverhead, and provide employment opportunities for residents and businesses, she said.

Aguiar said there has been considerable support from the community for the events.

Riverhead Town Councilwoman Catherine Kent abstained from the votes "because the board never received all pertinent information," she said. "I am not against having some racing events but I wanted to know that the events were carefully planned out with all safeguards in place."

For years, drag racing advocates have rallied for a permanent facility EPCAL; many say until such a destination is built on the East End, scores of motorsport enthusiasts are forced to leave the area and travel long distances to participate.

Consequently, some say, communities with motorsports facilities receive a much-welcomed economic infusion from those who travel to the area to attend events.

Marty Johnson III, founder and CEO of the Long Island Motorsports Association, who has long lobbied for a drag racing strip at EPCAL, has said for years that he would like to see a drag strip and a road course at EPCAL similar to what once existed in Bridgehampton and Westhampton.

On the flip side, some detractors have said over the years that they worry about noise, crowds, and environmental impacts of drag racing in the community.