Drag Racing Online: The Magazine

Volume VIII, Issue 9, Page 78

New Highway Boyz
     
In the beginning, they worked out of their backyards building 8.50-second drag race cars. Then, the racing spots of choice were measured off on a stretch of a road called New Highway. It literally runs though their back yards. But nobody races there now. Everybody goes to Edison Avenue or a select few other places.

The hub of activity is WJ’s New Highway Water Pump (17D Field St., West Babylon, NY 11704). That’s where the New Highway Boyz flag flies, and a lot of the post-race histrionics are shot there, mainly at night.


WJ is seen at the right along with TT. (click to enlarge)


Taebo

“Greg used to come and watch the races. He went to film school. And got together with the New Highway Boyz,” says WJ. “That’d be Mickey, Taebo, Cuzzin Yo, Scriptkeeper, Adrian, TT (AKA Titties), Mister 6, an’ Phat Rat.”

Filipkowski says he doesn’t organize the races, but merely follows the action, which becomes a major burndown about twice a year. Edison Avenue was in the neighborhood, so to speak, and the closest, best choice for the venue. “I got a permit from the city (West Babylon) to close the street for the day. We had spotters. We were very careful.” All the while the underlying theme was “see, this wouldn’t be happening if there was a working dragstrip on the Island.”

Many of the drag race scenes were filmed from inside the car. The adrenaline is palpable. You can almost smell it. Spooky. Wait a minute! That’s my own fear, literally. That’s how powerfully scary “2Fast2Real” was to me the first time I saw it. Other segments were filmed au natural and without anybody’s blessing, but the racing was always on wonderfully maintained, sparsely traveled four-lane highways away from the population (a huge portion of eastern Long Island is still wild).

Regardless of venue or sanction, the Suffolk County cops blew the doors from time to time, scribbled heavy citations, impounded cars, took people to jail. To their credit, the blues in the episodes I’ve seen come off as normally ticked but otherwise quite tolerant. Did the Rodney King video cross their minds?
     
When Greg was getting footage for the first “2Fast2Real” compilation in 2001, Mickey, one of the New Highway Boyz (see sidebar), tapped him on the shoulder and said, “We’re a group and we want to be part of it.” Greg’s idea began to mature with input from the Boyz.  
     
Racing scenes are necessarily the core of the three “2Fast2Real” videos in circulation and are balanced nicely with proselytizing hotties, a few rounds of friendly vehicle trashing, hairy-ass motorcycle stunts (including that twitchy 205-mph rant on the Robert Moses Causeway), vapid, sloe-eyed hotties, straight talk from the participants, Phat Rat’s monster burnouts in mid-town Manhattan early on a Sunday, interviews with NHRA import racers who eagerly eschew street racing for its inherent danger, and proper etiquette when on the scene.