PRO STOCK CHAMPION EXPERIENCES 100-FOOT DRAGS

Two-time mountain-motor Pro Stock World Champion John “Monte” Montecalvo wants to help build a new race track, 100 feet at a time.

Last Sunday (June 26), Montecalvo and his ADRL Extreme Pro Stock team displayed their race rig and car at Riverhead Raceway, not far from his Center Moriches, NY, home. The occasion was the debut of the Holeshot Drag Racing Association (HDRA) at the 1/4-mile stock car racing facility, where a 100-foot course was set up in the infield complete with a Portatree timing system and starting-line tree.

“What they are trying to do is twofold,” Montecalvo explained. “They’re trying to make a little more income for the circle track owner because he’s got all that property and taxes to take care of and if he can run this on Sunday and make a few bucks once a month, well, good for him. But the other thing is they’re trying to spur some interest locally to build a drag race track out here on Long Island.”

Montecalvo, who grew up on the Island, can remember a time when three drag strips were within a 45-minute drive from his house.

“But we’re down to zero right now,” he said. “We haven’t had a local track for probably seven or eight years now. (Long Island Dragway was the last to close, in 2004.)

As the 2009 IHRA Pro Stock world champ and the defending ADRL class champion, Montecalvo has moved on to a much bigger racing stage, so a local track wouldn’t offer much personal benefit, but he remains dedicated to helping the cause at home.

“My interest in this is to let the kids have the same opportunity that I had growing up and to keep them out of trouble and to get that message across to the local authorities,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons we need a track so much, because right now there’s way too much street racing going on around here and kids are crashing all the time and killing one another. We’re trying to get the message across that if we had a legal place for them to race, maybe this stuff wouldn’t be happening so much and also it would keep them occupied a little bit and out of trouble.

“I feel strongly about this because at some point in my life I could’ve gone the wrong way. The only thing that saved me is I was always too busy working because I needed to buy a new set of headers or I needed another set of tires; I didn’t have time to get in trouble because my passion was the racing, but I had somewhere to go and do it,” he continued. “But it’s funny, once the drag strips closed, people kind of lost that interest so it was really good to be out there and see it back again.”

Montecalvo was particularly impressed by the turnout and variety of vehicles participating.

“There was everything you could imagine; real race cars, street cars, hot rods; there were quads, motorcycles Jr. Dragsters, you name it, and the Jr. Dragsters were running beside full-sized cars. It was a great atmosphere, crazy, because people were just so excited to have a race track again—even if it was only a hundred feet,” he said.

Montecalvo admitted to even being tempted himself to see what his 828-cubic-inch-equipped 2009 Chevy Cobalt could do on the distance-challenged Riverhead strip.

“We started the car up and it got a lot of attention. People were actually clapping when I shut it off and that’s something I hadn’t heard in a long time. They were all crowded around it like it was Clay Millican warming up or something,” Montecalvo said (revealing his IHRA-centric roots).

“And after I warmed it up I did want to go down there, but the track wasn’t prepped and they don’t prep it for a reason because there really was a lot of street cars and they don’t want people breaking axles and u-joints out there,” he explained. “But looking back I should’ve went down there and at least done a burnout. Oh well, maybe next time.”

The HDRA is next scheduled to visit Riverhead Raceway July 24, when husband-and-wife drivers Andrew and Dina Parise are expected to have their blown Pro Mod Corvettes on display. HDRA races also are scheduled for Aug. 28 and Sep. 11, with pits open at 10 a.m. and test-and tune beginning each day at noon.

“It’s short; you can’t even imagine how short a hundred-foot race track is, but the amazing thing was the participation,” Montecalvo stressed. “It didn’t seem to matter, everyone wanted to make some passes and it was people of all ages, families and people from all walks of life, too. It really showed how there is a need for a race track here and I just hope it made some people in power take notice.”

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