Sunday’s racing fans at the Race Track, Not Street drag racing event at Calverton Enterprise Park witnessed a junior drag racing tournament with the largest prize pool in National Hot Rod Association history , according to the event promoter.

The tournament attracted junior drag racers from all over the East Coast – and even one from Ohio, organizers said. A $26,000 prize pool was generated through donations raised by Bill Madden, a drag racer from East Islip who decided to raise money for the event in which his grandson was participating. Madden ended up raising more than he expected from local businesses and other people supportive of drag racing, increasing what was an initial $1,000 contribution from himself and his son .

“We thought, Jesus, if we could double that and get $2,000, how cool would that be?” Madden said. “And it took off like wildfire. So many people were eager to step up to help these children.

“The $26,000 was the largest junior drag racing purse ever in the history of the National Hot Rod Association,” said promoter Pete Scalzo. “We had it here, on our little track.”

A total of 31 licensed junior drag racers, ages 6 to 17, competed in the event, Scalzo said. Each runner received $100 for their participation, and the top runners in both age categories won thousands of dollars. More than $5,000 was given away 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 the families attending the event were very excited to get involved in junior drag racing. He said he and Scalzo have already started planning a junior drag event for next year’s events. Madden said drag racing is another attraction to bring families to Riverhead, like the Long Island Aquarium and Splish Splash Water Park.

“Some kids play football, some kids play baseball, some kids drag race. It’s our sport. That’s what we do,” Madden said. “And the fact that we can do it again on Long Island, it’s wonderful.” And the town of Riverhead really opened its doors to us to make that 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 and drift racing.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.

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