Racing fans at Sunday’s Race Track, Not Street drag racing event at the Calverton Enterprise Park witnessed a junior drag racing tournament with the largest prize pool in National Hot Rod Association history, according to the event’s promoter.
The tournament drew junior drag racers from across the East Coast — and even one from Ohio, the organizers said. A prize pool of $26,000 was generated through donations collected by Bill Madden, a drag racer from East Islip who set out to raise money for the event, in which his grandson was competing. Madden ended up collecting more than he expected from local businesses and others supportive of drag racing, growing what was an initial contribution of $1,000 from him and his son.
“We thought, Jesus, if we could double that and get $2,000, how cool would that be?” Madden said. “And it just took off like wildfire. So many people couldn’t wait to jump in to help these kids out.”
“It wound up $26,000 was the biggest junior drag race purse ever in the history of the National Hot Rod Association,” promoter Pete Scalzo said. “We had it right here, at our little track.”
A total of 31 licensed junior drag racers, between the ages of 6 and 17 competed in the event, Scalzo said. Each racer received $100 for competing, and the top racers in the two age classes took home thousands of dollars. There were over $5,000 given at the event in gift cards and door prizes, Scalzo said.
The winners of the event were:
Class A:
1st place: Kole Paone, 11, of Williamstown, New Jersey won $7,000
2nd place: Giulia Held, 10, of Massapequa, New York won $2,000
Class B:
1st place: Jordan Michael Denny, 17, of Manassas, Virginia won $7,000
2nd place: Paul Stalba, 17, Williamstown, New Jersey won- $2,000
Madden said families spectating the event were abuzz about getting involved in junior drag racing. He said he and Scalzo have already started planning a junior dragster event for events next year. Madden said drag racing is another attraction to bring families into Riverhead, akin to the Long Island Aquarium and Splish Splash water park.
“Some kids play soccer, some kids play baseball, some kids drag race. That’s our sport. That’s what we do,” Madden said. “And the fact that we can do it again on Long Island, it’s magnificent. And the Town of Riverhead has really opened their doors for us to make this happen.”
Sunday’s event capped off the third consecutive year of Race Track, Not Street drag racing at EPCAL. In addition to drag racing, the event expanded this year to include go-kart racing and drifting.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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