L.I. Needs a Drag Strip

More than 200 cars raced on one of the Calverton Enterprise Park runways Saturday afternoon in the first installment of "Race Track, Not Street" series of drag racing events in Calverton. Photo slideshow.

There will be town-sanctioned drag racing on the EPCAL runways over five weekends this summer, if two separate proposals for drag-racing events are approved by the Riverhead Town Board.

A drag strip on Long Island would be a “catalyst for economic development and positive growth,” according to a national motorsports group in a report released yesterday.

With the proposed sale of the town’s remaining 1,600-plus acres of land inside the Calverton Enterprise Park put at least temporarily on hold, motorsports enthusiasts see an opening to renew their quest for a drag strip and racing complex at the sprawling Calverton site.

A large crowd of drag racing fans rallied at Riverhead Raceway Sunday in support of a drag track on Long Island. Racing fans have long...