The absence of dragstrips along the densely populated Eastern seaboard of the United States has been an issue for decades. This problem reached a fever pitch recently when Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey abruptly closed the dragstrip business, thus cancelling the one primary NHRA national event track on the upper eastern seaboard.

The annual car show at Long Island’s historical Tanner Park raises funds and awareness about the group’s effort to bring a dragstrip to New York. – Photos courtesy Drew Boxer, Creative Image Photography

For nearly two years, a dedicated group of racers and friends has been making their presence known about the issue in nearby Long Island, New York.

Best known as “L.I. Needs a Dragstrip”, the grassroots effort is filled with supporters displaying shirts, hoodies, and decals. We’re told you can’t drive 10 miles in any part of the island of New York state without seeing a truck, family sedan, or work van sporting their trademark decal. John Cozzali, the founder of this movement, says over 10,000 pieces of apparel and decals have been sold so far.

This movement started by Cozzali, friends, and family boasts an immediate staff of 16. They also have a large group of volunteers and over 16,000 supporting followers on their website and various social media outlets.

“A couple of years ago, I was driving home after competing at Atco Raceway,” Cozzali says. “It took me six hours to drive in traffic what should have been three hours. I told my wife the next day I was going to put up a Facebook post to see how many people were annoyed about Long Island’s lack of a track, especially since it has such a rich drag racing history.”

Interest spread rapidly. Cozzali and friends jumped into organizing their group and developed the “L.I. Needs a Dragstrips” apparel, decals, and Facebook page that became the beginning of their fundraising effort.

The group gained notoriety with media outlets by hosting car shows, attending parades and other public functions to get their issue into the eyes of the Long Island public and it has been working.

“The NHRA told us there are over 500 NHRA members with a Long Island address,” Cozzali explains. “I have used that statistic to gain the ear of legislators, assemblymen, Congress and other notable policymakers. We inform them about how many people leave Long Island to spend their motorsport money elsewhere. At that point when they grasp how many racers and fans would travel the other direction to Long Island for a dragstrip, they are taking notice.”

Statistics the group has put together are inarguable.

“Now that we have talked to area legislators about the economic impact, we are actually discussing locations for a track,” Cozzali says. “We recently had a meeting with one of the supervisors of the town of Riverhead, New York.”

With some real estate parcels within the crosshairs of the groups and supporting lawmakers, the group is spreading the word about the Riverhead location because of its potential beyond a dragstrip.

“We need an outlet for not only a dragstrip but also a motorsports park,” Cozzali expands. “There is no place on Long Island to ride quads or dirt bikes without getting a ticket. Kids caught street racing are a hot button we are not bashful about presenting to the public over the difference of racing on the street or a controlled race track.”

John Cozzali personally displays at many events, parades, rallies, and car shows year-round to represent the group’s agenda.

The progress of the group continues to gain teeth. Cozzali has investors ready and willing to make a complete facility happen quite rapidly if all of the proper zoning and permits become a reality.

“We have the financial horsepower in place if we overcome the political hurdles,” he says. 
“We have researched track designs to abate noise for the community and have even proposed becoming a leader in a green racing facility using solar power and self-sustaining designs at the track.”

Kids caught street racing are a hot button we are not bashful about presenting to the public over the difference of racing on the street or a controlled race track. –  John Cozzali

With the 10-o’clock news continuously reporting about the closing of nearby Raceway Park in Englishtown, this news has prompted even more interest from the political arena. The group organized social media and lineedsadragstrip.org website continues with huge traffic numbers.

“We are staying on top of this interest, but it is great that area political figures are taking the lead on this now without our prompting,” Cozzali says. “That itself is making me optimistic.”

What started as a social media outreach for Cozzali has grown into an effort with supporting political figures that could become a reality. Could this grassroots effort be a roadmap to other success stories for bringing more tracks to our sport? Time and tenacity by the group will be the factor.