A summertime staple on the East End is back open for a new season!

For the 2021 season, Riverhead Raceway will begin its 71st year of operation. It was originally built as a dirt track before it changed over to asphalt. It became a NASCAR-sanctioned track in 1974.

The raceway is the last stock car track on Long Island, and officials say it's important to keep a large racing community strong on the Island.

The auto racing industry, like most others, took a big hit last year. The track was able to open, but without fans. In that time, the track offered a pay-per-view livestream for fans.

A night at Riverhead Raceway is a very diverse one. You'll have modifieds, figure-eight stock cars, legend cars and thrown in across the season will be school bus demolition derbies, school bus races, monster trucks, fireworks and more.

The track will be under COVID-19 regulations, with face coverings required at all times. Families are able to sit together in the stands, and with the bleacher capacity they have, making that work isn't a problem.