I reached out to a friend of mine, who I met at a racetrack in Georgia, that is from and races in St. Croix. I wanted to hear about island racing and bring that story to you. I ended up doing a different story, about a family who moved to St. Croix in retirement and purchased junior dragsters to bring with them. Junior dragsters that they gifted to young men so they could learn to race: https://dragcoverage.com/?p=2751
but, now I have the original story. While it is not as heartfelt as the story above, it let’s you know that the passion of racing runs deep across the globe.
Island Racing:
There’s a dragstrip on an island with a population smaller than some small towns in Georgia. That island is St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands — home to just over 40,000 people — and it proudly houses the St. Croix Motorsports Complex, a quarter-mile track that’s as unique as the people who race on it.
And here’s the kicker: there’s no return road.
That’s right. When racers cross the stripe, they don’t loop back around. They stop, turn around, and drive back down the track — in front of the fans, in front of the cameras, and in front of the island. It’s not efficient. It’s not fast. But it’s personal, and it’s something you don’t see anywhere else in the world. That return pass has become a moment of pride, celebration, or even redemption for racers.
Passion Fueled by Challenges
Racing in the Caribbean isn’t just about going fast — it’s about overcoming. The weather is brutal. Rain can end an event in minutes, and hurricanes can end seasons — or in St. Croix’s case, take the whole track offline for years. After Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, the complex sat silent until 2022, when the Caribbean Drag Racing Association (CDRA), with support from the local government and passionate locals, brought it back to life.
But it’s not just the weather. Parts are hard to come by. Shipping is expensive. Logistics are complex. Want to run a 1/4-mile pass on an island? You better know how to rebuild your engine with what you have in the garage — or wait for parts to arrive weeks later by boat.
And yet, these racers don’t stop. They build, they tune, and they race.
Racers Without Borders
One of the most inspiring things about Caribbean racers is how far they’re willing to go for the sport. Shipping a car to Puerto Rico, Curacao, or the U.S. mainland isn’t cheap. It’s thousands of dollars and weeks of planning. But many of them do it regularly, trailering or containerizing their cars just to show off their cars and race.
It’s not uncommon to see a St. Croix racer roll into a U.S. event with a car that made a 1,500-mile journey over water. These racers aren’t chasing clout. They’re chasing their next race.
That’s grassroots. That’s what DragCoverage has always loved: racers who do it because they love it, not because it’s easy.
The Caribbean Scene Is Real
Don’t let the palm trees fool you — the Caribbean has a legitimate drag racing scene. Tracks like:
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St. Croix Motorsports Complex (USVI)
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Salinas Speedway in Puerto Rico
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Curacao International Raceway
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St. James Raceway in Barbados
…are home tracks to some of the fiercest, most passionate racers out there. They’re tuning rotaries, Pro Mods, small tire monsters, and full-bodied street cars just like we see here in the U.S — and they’re doing it without access to the same resources.
And the CDRA has stepped in to bring unity and structure across these scattered scenes, helping coordinate events, build infrastructure, and promote Caribbean racing on a regional level.
A Connection to the Culture
We’ve talked a lot about grassroots racing here on DragCoverage. We’ve talked about Silver Dollar Raceway in Georgia, where red clay meets VHT, and where hometown heroes become legends. We’ve written about Drag Week, where a five-second car needs a radiator and a registration sticker. We’ve covered the rise, fall, and return of outlaw tracks, no-prep warriors, and 1320 purists.
But this story — this island story — is another thread in that same fabric. The racers of St. Croix, Curacao, Trinidad, and Puerto Rico are part of this global grassroots movement. They’re building dreams one pass at a time, fighting elements we can’t imagine, and arriving thousands of miles by sea just to get to the line.
They’re not asking for attention. They’re not asking for praise.
They just want to race.
I hope to visit the islands one day, for the beaches and the racing.
see you at the next race
-Kline
