Photos: Racer roller coaster track work at Kings Island

Last month on the Kings Island Blog we shared with our readers the news that a significant amount of track work was being done on The Racer, with carpenters replacing more than 500 feet of the old and mostly original track on both sides of the twin-track roller coaster from the base of the first drop through the drop on the 65-foot tall fourth hill.

Here is a latest look at the track work on The Racer.

Kings Island officials coaxed the legendary roller coaster designer John Allen of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company out of semi-retirement for the task of designing and building The Racer. He started to design the ride’s blueprints in 1960. Actual construction began in September 1970. The first trial run came a year later in September,1971. It worked perfectly the first time, as Allen predicted it would.

The Racer was the first roller coaster built structurally on the ground with prefabricated sections lifted into position and bolted. It was one of the largest roller coasters ever built at the time, and the largest that Allen had built. He considered The Racer to be the finest roller coaster he ever built.

In addition to being considered an important part of the roller coaster renaissance of the 1970’s, The Racer was the site of several world record-riding attempts and is notable for its appearance in the “Cincinnati Kids” episode of The Brady Bunch, filmed at the park in 1972. On May 28, 1982, one side of The Racer became the world’s first full-length, backwards traveling roller coaster. (Both sides now face forward.)

Since its debut April 29, 1972, The Racer has given more than 106 million rides – by far the most in park history! Its record year was 1976, when a Kings Island single-season attraction record 3,681,338 rides were given.

Be sure to keep an eye on the Kings Island Blog as we continue to share updates on The Racer offseason track work progress.