TERMINAL ISLAND : Harbor Commissioners Give OK to Drag Racing
The Board of Harbor Commissioners voted Wednesday to allow drag racing on Terminal Island--effectively creating the only legal drag strip in Los Angeles.
“As of right now, all five of you commissioners are our heroes,” said Willie A. (Big Willie) Robinson, president of the National & International Brotherhood of Street Racers. Racers in the audience cheered after the board voted and instantly began making plans for competitions.
Under the agreement, the group will pay only $1 a month for use of the site until April 1, 1995. But the rental goes to $250,000 a month after that--terms designed to push the group into looking for a permanent location for the drag races.
Robinson said the drag strip should open within two weeks, with racing from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Admission will be $5 per person and no alcohol will be permitted on the premises.
For those who do not have cars, the Brotherhood arranges bicycle, go-cart and even foot races.
In agreeing to allow the group to use port property, the board enacted a lengthy list of requirements involving insurance, financing and safety.
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