Nonprofit group touts revenue in bid to build Long Island drag race strip

The United States Motorsports Association published a report last week advocating for a drag strip to be built on Long Island, Riverhead Local reported. Such a facility would generate $17.6 million in spending and draw nearly 330,000 visitors each year, according to the 22-page report. The North Carolina-based Motorsports Association produced the report at the behest of the Long Island Drag Racing Club, a nonprofit group that tries to highlight the benefits of the sport. The Motorsports Association didn’t suggest a specific location for such a facility, though local advocates are eyeing the Enterprise Park at Calverton, whose proposed $40 million sale is currently in question. But such a proposal and others like it have previously failed to move successive town boards. Calverton Motor Sports Park offered $25,000 to Riverhead to build a 200-acre racing site. The proposal made it through screening agencies, only to get shot down by the town board. The families of veterans have opposed such proposals due to how close the site would be to the Calverton National Cemetery. Last month another group seeking to build a $1.1 billion sports complex in Ronkonkoma scaled back its vision for the project. [Riverhead Local]