The track is safe and operations will continue as they have for decades. This outcome serves as a testament to the community that formed around these 1320 feet of pavement. We must remain attentive to the property in the coming months to ensure the long-term vision for this space stays …
March 1, 2021
Final supporters
1/4 mile. 1320 feet. 402 meters. That's the big draw for Atco Dragway. But more so, we go to Atco to see our friends spend time with our family, to show off our cars, and to safely and legally race our vehicles. We take our wives, our husbands, our parents, our children - it truly is a family safe environment that holds many of our memories since its construction in 1960. We, the supports, fans, and patrons of Atco Dragway, stand to lose all of this if action is not taken.
On May 8, 2020, The NJ Pinelands Commission announced in their meeting minutes that a "pre-application conference was held with a contract purchaser of Atco Dragway to turn the raceway into an automobile storage and auction facility." The application was to be submitted to the PLC in June, but as of today, June 29, we have found no evidence that the application was actually submitted. In the monthly meeting on June 12, 2020, the NJ Pinelands Commission made no mention of Atco Dragway, let alone any comment on the application being submitted. Meeting minutes can be found at https://www.nj.gov/pinelands/home/meetings/.
The next NJPLC meeting is Friday, July 12, 2020 at 9:30 am. Due to COVID19 restrictions, it seems as if it will be a closed meeting but available as a live Zoom meeting with public call in made available. We of Save Atco Dragway request that if you do call in to make a public comment, it will be on record so please be respectful and professional as we all try to better the cause to keep the dragway alive. If we cannot keep it alive as it stands, we do not want a vehicle salvage auction in its place.
There are many factors that need to be taken into account in turning Atco Dragway into a salvage vehicle auction. The environment stands forefront in our minds. The majority of residences in the immediate vicinity of the dragway have well water. Wrecked salvage vehicles leak any and every type of vehicle fluid you can imagine: gasoline, freon, oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, washer fluid, etc. As the dragway also is in extremely close proximity to the Mullica River, these chemicals will surely make their way into the waterway, as well as eventually into the wells of the homeowners and renters in the area of the dragway. These cars are not brought in and then sold in a week or two. The cars are brought in as it stands, imaged, then placed in inventory where the vehicle awaits a salvage title which can take weeks, months, years, or in rare instances a salvage title cannot be obtained.
We believe that the NJPLC needs to focus their concern on the heavy environmental hazards a salvage auction brings. This not only encompasses the water supply hazards, but also threats to the wildlife, both vegetative and animal species that call the NJ Pinelands their home in and around Atco Dragway.
As we are all well aware, racing is not a quiet sport. There are burnouts, crashes, and revving of all sorts of engines. With a salvage auto auction, there will be the constant run of tow trucks, car haulers, and front end loaders which will be audible from the development across from the drag strip. This isn't a few hours on a Friday and Saturday night...this is a constant Monday through Friday (and some Saturdays) 6 am to 6 pm steady flow of vehicular traffic. When racing a vehicle, it is very rare to pull out of a parking lot and drop parts onto the roadway as a hazard for other traffic coming through. With salvaged wrecked vehicles, it is a nonstop occurrence causing flat tires, bent rims, and blow outs.
We are researching into the new asphalt laid down along Jackson Road as well as the weight limit of the newly installed wooden bridge between the Camden and Burlington Counties. It is quite possible the new roads and bridge will not sustain the weight of the car haulers on a daily basis.
We all know money talks - we aren't looking for donations at this time. Just your signature and maybe a share to your friends and family who hold the same fond memories that we all do of Atco. We can't stop the owner from selling as much as we may want to. But we can attempt to stop the auction from building. With your help, we just may be able to do it! Thank you for your support, and please, join us over at Save Atco Dragway on Facebook.
Updates
January 22, 2021
Reaching twenty-five hundred signatures serves as a powerful reminder of how many people value the history and community found at this track. This collection of names illustrates the deep connection we all feel toward preserving this place for future generations.
Reached 2,500 supporters
January 21, 2021
August 12, 2020
Seeing this groundswell of support reminds me that the history of this track is woven into the lives of so many families in our community. These signatures reflect a collective desire to preserve a space that has served as a home for racing and friendship for decades. We have proven that the future of this facility is a concern that extends far beyond the starting line.
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 23, 2020
July 2, 2020
Seeing one hundred people attach their names to this effort confirms that the history of Atco Dragway remains deeply important to our community. This number represents a real baseline of concern for the future of our track. I appreciate everyone who took a moment to acknowledge the value of this space.
Reached 100 supporters
June 30, 2020
1,150 Comments
This track is so much more than a race track:; it's memories, it's family, it's friends and smack talk. If this track closes as a race track you are going to have so many young, middle aged and older car enthusiast race dangerously on the public streets.
Central jersey car enthusiasts recently lost our local dragway, Raceway Park. Losing Atco now would be a huge blow to the dragracing family. We've enjoyed many events over the years and would hate to see this hobby and tradition fade away.
ATCO Dragway is our home track, I understand that some residents don’t like the noise but, don’t make a Bigger mistake of letting it sell to IAA and have more environmental impact that will be 10x worse for the Pinelands then a racetrack will.
As someone who raced from 1988 to 1999, I can say this place is a necessity. Not only did I stay safe by not street racing but I made a lot of good friends and learned the value of hard work and true competitive skills, All good life lessons!
The constant flow of tractor-trailers hauling cars in and out of the facility will be a nightmare, traffic wise and for the residents along Jackson rd. I take Jackson rd everyday for work, and there is very little truck traffic. Let’s keep it that way.
My family has history in this dragstrip and it would be a shame to lose it all just because someone wanted to build an auction house on top of it!
Save our racetrack
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The track is safe and operations will continue as they have for decades. This outcome serves as a testament to the community that formed around these 1320 feet of pavement. We must remain attentive to the property in the coming months to ensure the long-term vision for this space stays …
March 1, 2021
Final supporters
1/4 mile. 1320 feet. 402 meters. That's the big draw for Atco Dragway. But more so, we go to Atco to see our friends spend time with our family, to show off our cars, and to safely and legally race our vehicles. We take our wives, our husbands, our parents, our children - it truly is a family safe environment that holds many of our memories since its construction in 1960. We, the supports, fans, and patrons of Atco Dragway, stand to lose all of this if action is not taken.
On May 8, 2020, The NJ Pinelands Commission announced in their meeting minutes that a "pre-application conference was held with a contract purchaser of Atco Dragway to turn the raceway into an automobile storage and auction facility." The application was to be submitted to the PLC in June, but as of today, June 29, we have found no evidence that the application was actually submitted. In the monthly meeting on June 12, 2020, the NJ Pinelands Commission made no mention of Atco Dragway, let alone any comment on the application being submitted. Meeting minutes can be found at https://www.nj.gov/pinelands/home/meetings/.
The next NJPLC meeting is Friday, July 12, 2020 at 9:30 am. Due to COVID19 restrictions, it seems as if it will be a closed meeting but available as a live Zoom meeting with public call in made available. We of Save Atco Dragway request that if you do call in to make a public comment, it will be on record so please be respectful and professional as we all try to better the cause to keep the dragway alive. If we cannot keep it alive as it stands, we do not want a vehicle salvage auction in its place.
There are many factors that need to be taken into account in turning Atco Dragway into a salvage vehicle auction. The environment stands forefront in our minds. The majority of residences in the immediate vicinity of the dragway have well water. Wrecked salvage vehicles leak any and every type of vehicle fluid you can imagine: gasoline, freon, oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, washer fluid, etc. As the dragway also is in extremely close proximity to the Mullica River, these chemicals will surely make their way into the waterway, as well as eventually into the wells of the homeowners and renters in the area of the dragway. These cars are not brought in and then sold in a week or two. The cars are brought in as it stands, imaged, then placed in inventory where the vehicle awaits a salvage title which can take weeks, months, years, or in rare instances a salvage title cannot be obtained.
We believe that the NJPLC needs to focus their concern on the heavy environmental hazards a salvage auction brings. This not only encompasses the water supply hazards, but also threats to the wildlife, both vegetative and animal species that call the NJ Pinelands their home in and around Atco Dragway.
As we are all well aware, racing is not a quiet sport. There are burnouts, crashes, and revving of all sorts of engines. With a salvage auto auction, there will be the constant run of tow trucks, car haulers, and front end loaders which will be audible from the development across from the drag strip. This isn't a few hours on a Friday and Saturday night...this is a constant Monday through Friday (and some Saturdays) 6 am to 6 pm steady flow of vehicular traffic. When racing a vehicle, it is very rare to pull out of a parking lot and drop parts onto the roadway as a hazard for other traffic coming through. With salvaged wrecked vehicles, it is a nonstop occurrence causing flat tires, bent rims, and blow outs.
We are researching into the new asphalt laid down along Jackson Road as well as the weight limit of the newly installed wooden bridge between the Camden and Burlington Counties. It is quite possible the new roads and bridge will not sustain the weight of the car haulers on a daily basis.
We all know money talks - we aren't looking for donations at this time. Just your signature and maybe a share to your friends and family who hold the same fond memories that we all do of Atco. We can't stop the owner from selling as much as we may want to. But we can attempt to stop the auction from building. With your help, we just may be able to do it! Thank you for your support, and please, join us over at Save Atco Dragway on Facebook.
Updates
January 22, 2021
Reaching twenty-five hundred signatures serves as a powerful reminder of how many people value the history and community found at this track. This collection of names illustrates the deep connection we all feel toward preserving this place for future generations.
Reached 2,500 supporters
January 21, 2021
August 12, 2020
Seeing this groundswell of support reminds me that the history of this track is woven into the lives of so many families in our community. These signatures reflect a collective desire to preserve a space that has served as a home for racing and friendship for decades. We have proven that the future of this facility is a concern that extends far beyond the starting line.
Reached 1,000 supporters
July 23, 2020
July 2, 2020
Seeing one hundred people attach their names to this effort confirms that the history of Atco Dragway remains deeply important to our community. This number represents a real baseline of concern for the future of our track. I appreciate everyone who took a moment to acknowledge the value of this space.
Reached 100 supporters
June 30, 2020
1,150 Comments
I’ve been at racetracks since I was 3 months old I ave always looked at it as a family oriented place and it is made some of my best friends at these places and have recently gotten my kids involved in my race program and would love to continue that
This track is so much more than a race track:; it's memories, it's family, it's friends and smack talk. If this track closes as a race track you are going to have so many young, middle aged and older car enthusiast race dangerously on the public streets.
Central jersey car enthusiasts recently lost our local dragway, Raceway Park. Losing Atco now would be a huge blow to the dragracing family. We've enjoyed many events over the years and would hate to see this hobby and tradition fade away.
ATCO Dragway is our home track, I understand that some residents don’t like the noise but, don’t make a Bigger mistake of letting it sell to IAA and have more environmental impact that will be 10x worse for the Pinelands then a racetrack will.
As someone who raced from 1988 to 1999, I can say this place is a necessity. Not only did I stay safe by not street racing but I made a lot of good friends and learned the value of hard work and true competitive skills, All good life lessons!
The constant flow of tractor-trailers hauling cars in and out of the facility will be a nightmare, traffic wise and for the residents along Jackson rd. I take Jackson rd everyday for work, and there is very little truck traffic. Let’s keep it that way.
My family has history in this dragstrip and it would be a shame to lose it all just because someone wanted to build an auction house on top of it!
Save our racetrack
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I’ve been at racetracks since I was 3 months old I ave always looked at it as a family oriented place and it is made some of my best friends at these places and have recently gotten my kids involved in my race program and would love to continue that