Before the Feb. 16 illegal street racing crash on Indian Head Highway in Accokeek, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey said he hadn’t been aware of how popular the illegal races are.

“I think there’s certainly an enormous attachment to street racing in Southern Maryland that I hadn’t realized was there,” Ivey said at a news conference Tuesday where he announced the indictments of two alleged drag racers, one of whom is believed to have slammed into a crowd of hundreds, killing eight.

“I don’t think it’s a major problem,” he added. “It’s clear people need to understand how dangerous this activity can be.”

Illegal street racing has been popular for decades, dating back to before the rich tobacco fields just outside the Beltway were replaced by suburban sprawl; a time when straight, country roads were plentiful.

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Recently, the frequency of races has risen in a region with few diversions and marked by a disdain for the crowded roads inside the Beltway.

But since the Accokeek racing accident, police have been stopping traffic on known racing streets, and similar crackdowns before that were already pushing more drivers onto legal racetracks, said officials with the Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek.

More than 700 drivers pay $20 each on weekends to run unrestricted or compete over the quarter-mile track.

“Competition is a driving force,” MIR President Royce Miller said. “Male egos. We make [cars] look better and go faster than our buddies and our rivals.”

Examiner Staff Writer Rick Snider contributed to this report.

fklopott@dcexaminer.com